UNITED STATES—Hello Toni: Since you deal with Social Security matters related to Medicare, maybe you can help me because on April 20, I received an email stating that I am to receive a $200 monthly increase in my Social Security check which will be $2,400 for the year.  I am hesitant to reply to the current emails that I am receiving because I read the Medicare fraud article that you wrote stating that Medicare, Social Security, or the IRS will not send out an email. You advised your readers not to reply to an email or text in the article, so I did not.

I have not received that increase or other information by either mail or email explaining when this increase will happen. Do you know where I should go for trustworthy information with Social Security to have my questions answered? Thanks, Toni. –Chris from Columbus, Ohio.

Chris: Great question, because Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General is advising “the public to be keenly aware of the attempts from persons seeking to gain your personal information from you to receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) from SSA for $2400 or $200 a month.”

Social Security does not announce what the new COLA will be until fall of each year.

The new COLA for 2027 will be announced in late October or early November of 2026. The COLA for 2027 will begin with your new 2027 Social Security check amount payable in January 2027.

America needs to be aware that Congress has proposed 2 bills to increase Social Security by at least $200 per month, but these governmental bills have not been finalized or signed into law by President Trump.  The 2.8 percent increase for the 2026 cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) for nearly 71 million Social Security beneficiaries began in January of this year.

Yes, Chris, you have received bogus information from a scammer who is only trying to find a way to get money out of you. The government office of the Inspector General for Social Security monitors Social Security scams/fraud, and this information with dates of current scams can be found on the Inspector General website at https://oig.ssa.gov/scam-alerts/. Medicare’s OIG is found in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the IRS also has a specific OIG department.

Below are a few tips to help protect you against Social Security, Medicare, or IRS fraud:

  • Have a safety script by your phone for scam/fraud calls. Tell anyone, especially scammers, you do not give out personal information over the phone. (Get your adult kids or a friend to help you write your script.) Stick to the script no matter what!
  • For scam/fraud emails do not open the email or reply back. Just delete the scam/fraud email. If you are not comfortable with deleting the email yourself or if you are uncertain of its legitimacy, show it to your adult kids or a friend who helps you stay safe.
  • Never give your Medicare or Social Security number to strangers who call you on the phone, come knocking on your door or ask for it in an email or text. Just like you tell your grandkids not to talk with or reply to emails or texts from strangers, you need not talk to them either. Play the “Stranger Danger” game for yourself and slam the door or hang up the phone.
  • Do NOT accept “free” offers in exchange for your Medicare number. Remember, nothing is “free.” These scammers will have Medicare pay for whatever they are offering, and they will use your Medicare number to get it paid for!

Social Security, Medicare, and IRS fraud are exploding, so please let your friends and family members know what I have just told you. Americans need to stand together and stop those who only want to make a “fast dollar” from your Social Security and Medicare information, your checking account/credit card and most of all from YOU!

For a Medicare/Social Security checkup, call the Toni Says Medicare hotline at 832-519-8664 or email info@tonisays.com. Sign up for the Toni Says newsletter at www.tonisays.com to download Toni’s new Medicare 2026 First Steps guide.