Playing It Safe: How To Avoid Social Security Fraud
The SSA (Social Security Administration) has created a program that benefits people who have become unable to work at their job due to a medical condition. This government agency provides a monthly monetary benefit to those who qualify, through both having worked enough and having a qualified level of certain medical conditions. With a confusing and complicated application process, it's easy to make mistakes and run afoul of the system, resulting in the potential to be charged with fraud. Read on to learn more about common situations that could cause you to come under scrutiny with the SSA.
1. Making false statements and claims about your medical condition to either medical personnel or on an application. It is not necessary to exaggerate your symptoms and doing so could get your claim denied once the SSA requests you undergo a medical exam by an SSA contracted doctor.
2. While you may have heard that the SSA is more likely to approve claims for people with very little education and/or job skills, don't be tempted to understate your education levels. The SSA can and will verify educational levels.
3. Once you are approved, your income must stay below the stated limit ($1090.00 as of this time) to continue to receive benefits. Whether you have a job in the workplace or are self-employed, the SSA will check your income with the IRS, so ensure that you are not under-reporting.
4. The SSA calculates any back pay from your last day of work. You must provide an exact, accurate date to the SSA, since fudging the date to acquire a larger amount of back pay could backfire and cause your entire claim to be denied once the SSA verifies the date with your previous employer.
5. You must inform the SSA immediately if your martial status changes, since your new spouse's income could affect your benefit amount.
6. If you have been convicted of fraud in connection with any government-run benefit program, such as food stamps, housing assistance, social security disability or insurance, you will not be able to get your claim approved. Using someones else's social security number to procure benefits because your own brings up a fraud alert is another form of fraud.
7. Misrepresenting your living situation is a common form of fraud, sometimes unintentional. If you cohabitate with someone, you must report this to the SSA.
8. Doing work and getting paid in (unreported) cash could mean committing two types of fraud in this instance; doing work that you claimed you are unable to do and earning more than the allowed income.
Being ignorant of the rules and regulations about Social Security benefits is no excuse. Each act of fraud you commit could garner up to $10,000.00 in fines and up to 5 years in prison. If you have questions contact your Social Security caseworker and speak to an attorney for more information on staying on the legal side of the SSA.
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