He Never Opened an Online Social Security Account and Thought His $2,071 Monthly Check Was Safe. One Fraudulent Change Could Leave Him Without the Money He Needs to Get Through Retirement

Americans reported $17.7 billion in losses to cyber-enabled fraud in 2025, according to the FBI’s annual internet crime report. Cyber-enabled fraud made up 85% of all losses reported to the bureau that year.

Picture Frank, a retiree in his mid-70s whose Social Security deposit covers most of his bills. He’s never opened an online Social Security account. After hearing about someone whose benefits were stolen, he wonders whether a stranger could gain access to his record and redirect his monthly check.

The numbers make the worry real. Social Security estimated the average retired-worker benefit at $2,071 a month in January 2026, or about $24,852 a year. The standard Medicare Part B premium of $202.90 comes out of that same deposit. If a thief redirects a single payment, that can mean a missed rent check.

One Phone Call Locks the Online Door to His Record

Social Security offers a tool called Block Electronic Access. Once it’s turned on, the agency disables online and automated telephone access to your Social Security record, including your own ability to access it. Nobody can change Frank’s address, direct deposit or other details through the website or the automated phone line. That includes Frank.

That’s the protection Frank is looking for. A fraudster might obtain his Social Security number, birth date and address in a data breach and try to use that information to gain access to his record. The electronic block prevents online access even if someone attempts to impersonate him. The trade-off is that Frank loses the same convenience.

How Frank Requests the Block and Where Its Protection Ends

Frank can call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 or contact a local office to request an electronic access block. He can also ask about the agency’s separate Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block, which restricts changes to direct deposit and contact information through certain channels. Removing these protections requires contacting Social Security and verifying his identity.

The block covers his Social Security record and nothing else. His checking account, credit cards and credit reports need their own protection, such as a free credit freeze at each of the three credit bureaus. A determined impostor could still try to fool a Social Security employee, or Frank himself, over the phone. The block cuts off the most common shortcut. It can’t make his record fraud-proof.

Simple Habits That Catch Scams the Block Can’t Stop

1. Expect scam calls around raise announcements. The 2027 cost-of-living adjustment is 3.6%, and crooks time their calls to news like this. A common script says you must confirm your information to get the raise, then uses those details to change your direct deposit for your Social Security money from you to the crooks. As consumer advocate Clark Howard told listeners, “You don’t have to do anything to get the increase.”
2. Hang up and call back yourself. Social Security does not threaten arrest, suspend your number over the phone or ask for gift cards. If a call feels urgent, Frank can hang up and dial the agency’s official number himself. The person on the other end then has to be who they claim to be.
3. Read every deposit and letter. A late payment, a smaller deposit or a notice confirming a change Frank never made deserves a same-day call to Social Security. He should also file a report with the agency’s inspector general. The sooner a fraudulent change gets flagged, the fewer payments go missing.
4. Identity theft is a separate problem. Treat it that way. If Frank’s Social Security number shows up in a breach, he can freeze his credit, report the theft at IdentityTheft.gov and save the case number. Banks and the agency may ask for that report later.

Weigh a Small Hassle Against a Steady Check

The block suits someone like Frank. He is a beneficiary who rarely goes online, whose personal data may already be out there, and who relies on his monthly check for necessities. The cost is convenience. Every future address change, benefit letter or direct deposit update means a phone call or office visit, plus identity checks to lift the block. A retiree who checks statements online every month might prefer to open their own account and protect it with strong security. That also keeps a stranger from opening one first.

Before he calls, Frank should ask himself how often he really needs to change anything online, and how he’d manage if a payment disappeared for a month or two. Each household answers those questions differently. A family member who handles a parent’s paperwork may also change which choice makes sense.

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