• replacing a Social Security card; and
• getting a Social Security number for a child.
These for-profit businesses may cleverly design their websites, so when people use Internet search engines, their advertisement pops up. They may even make their advertisement look similar to the real Social Security website. And some of these sites, at first glance, appear to be affiliated with Social Security. But upon closer examination, these are for-profit companies charging individuals for a service that is provided free by Social Security.
The law that deals specifically with misleading Social Security and Medicare advertising prohibits people or non-government organizations, like for-profit businesses, from using words or emblems that mislead others. Their advertising cannot lead people to believe that they represent or are somehow affiliated with or endorsed or approved by Social Security or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Medicare). But that doesn’t stop advertisers from trying.
When you go to www.socialsecurity.gov, make sure you look for the “.gov” sign along the way. Don’t be tricked into paying a fee for a service that’s free. And remember: if it isn’t .gov, it isn’t Social Security.