Social Security typically does not text. This is a SMShing attempt (a means to extract information from you through a text). Don't answer and reach out directly to Social Security through their website or telephone but do not click any links you got in your texts!!! - VERY IMPORTANT

or the DMV here in California and probably others institutions.

Communication & Notification Preferences
Review your current preference selections
Communication PreferencesEdit
Your communication preferences let us know if we should mail paper copies of notices available on my Social Security Message Center.
When I receive a notice in Message Center: Do not send a paper copy
Notification PreferencesEdit
We'll notify you through your preferred notification method when a new message is available in my Social Security Message Center.
When there is a new Message in my Message Center Inbox, I want to be notified by: Email and Text Message

https://secure.ssa.gov/myssa/mypreferences-ui/mypreferences-home

And if you didn't, then it's a scam.

You are correct! Bad on me for not scanning the other responses!

Only emails and I also have an online account with them that I use periodically.

You were right to disregard it, I think. But who knows, they may just decide to eliminate all forms of communication except texts. They don’t have any sympathy for older people who aren’t up on technology. And this administration is always changing their mind. No warning, no ramp up, no transition window, nothing. They just do things with cruelty as their guide.

As an aside, back in September or October,
I remember getting a text from some unrecognizable organization as notification of a “bill”. Months earlier, I broke a small bone in my foot and Urgent Care gave me an air cast (DME). It was months later that I got this TEXT telling me to pay my bill. But the text didn’t tell me any details or what the bill was for. Just some hinky company name and a link to a website. Yea, like I’m just going to follow a link in text. That’s basic scam101.

At that point, I hadn’t made the connection that it was from the 3rd party that Urgent Care uses for their DME devices. I researched until I got a phone number, and called them and clarified it was all legit. I made it damn clear that just sending an unprofessional text with no context was not any way to run a business. I asked that they send me a bill in the mail which apparently is no longer the normal way of doing things. After I waited a couple weeks for a paper bill, and none came, I paid online with paypal as I recall.

Last edited Tue Dec 30, 2025, 06:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Check the return address. The real Social Security is .gov. the scams are .com or something else entirely.

gov NOT org

I corrected my post.

As long as you went to SS site yourself rather than use a link in the text, doesn't matter if it was a SS phishing scam originally. But if you did you should immediately go to the known-real SS site and change your password.

The emails always say I must log into social security site to read changes, updates, whatever they are informing me about.

Or which might be just spam or much, much worse, my practice is two-fold.

1. Don't ignore it. That "might be" doesn't mean "obviously isn't." It just means I have doubts--maybe big doubts--that it's true. But that allows for a chance that it is true.

2. Following that chance, I promptly delete the possibly or even probably spurious message, whether mail or text, do not click on their maybe malicious or simply annoying, but just possibly correct, link. Instead, go directly to the site they claim to be pushing--the site name looks good, maybe check it out. For example, https://Socialsecurity.ru/ would not check out but https://www.ssa.gov/ would.

SS requires a new kind of ID? You know that they'll have info about that new requirement on their website.

Yes, it takes a few minutes. But it means I preserve some semblance of agency over my device's security while not ignoring possibly useful or needed information.

There is correct discussion here already. No more needed.

I just received one that notified me of a new message in my account.

When I get something like this, I do NOT click on the provided link but instead log in to the SSA website separately - this will prevent you from being scammed.

After logging in I saw the new message and read it there...easy-peasy.

The key is don't click on any text-based link.

If they have correspondence it will be there.

to tell me about my COL increase.

change the way I logged in last year, before trump was in office.

Learn what you can aboutSS to make the right decisions. Don't count on one source, study many. I had taken continuing ed courses to keep my license. I focused on SS. Helped a lot. Happy Nude Year everyone.

If you have agreed to go digital/electronic SSA does send texts. I get them.
My wife, who didn’t agree to go electronic, doesn’t get the texts. She continues to get the letters.

The one that is going out now is telling you about your COLA for the year.

I got the text (which just tells you to login to the SSA.gov site) and logged in and was able to see my increase.

Not a scam.

Not saying that there aren’t any scams to watch out for, but this isn’t one of them.

If you get anything that asks for money, credit or bank information etc.—those are scams

Don't click on links in texts and don't give phone callers any info. Instead log into your account and check.