Social security scam took Maryland residents for $6M

The FBI dismantled scam call centers located in India that have been targeting hundreds of victims nationwide since 2022, stealing millions of dollars from unsuspecting victims by using sophisticated fraud schemes, officials said.

At a news conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Monday, two people revealed how they fell victim to a Social Security scam and lost their life savings.

Lisa and Sahadev fell for the same scam, they said: An email from what they thought was the Social Security Administration telling them their Social Security numbers had been used for criminal activity and had been suspended.

Sahadev said they sent him proof they were Social Security.

“And I trust them, OK,” he said. “They had the badge.”

He and Lisa both contacted the FBI after realizing they had been scammed.

With the help of authorities in India, the FBI has shut down scam call centers that have scammed almost $50 million nationwide, officials said.

Since 2022, there have been almost two dozen victims in Maryland from Baltimore, Kent, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties for a total of $6,257,869 lost.

Lisa, who spent her career working for the federal government, became emotional while telling her story.

“I was so scared,” she said. “I did everything what they said, he said, he told me. So, here goes, I sent my life saving money to those people, scammers.”

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said his office secured 10 indictments in the scams — many of them couriers or mules who were used to pick up gold bars from victims who thought they were working with the feds to protect their investments.

“Unsolicited calls, the government doesn’t call you on the phone,” McCarthy said. “The FBI is not going to call you.” 

Lisa and Sahadev have respect for authority, McCarthy said, and the federal government and the scammers preyed on that respect.