Receiving spam phone calls and emails feels like a never-ending cycle.

Blocking numbers and addresses only to get more out-of-town calls and emails from names you do not recognize over and over again.

Receiving large amounts of spam calls has made some people cautious about answering the phone to unrecognized numbers. Spam phone calls can be extremely dangerous for people who do not know how to recognize them.

Scammers will pressure you for personal information and can even use caller identification to make it appear like they are calling from a government or business’ phone number. If you share personal, credit card, banking or gift card information you are making it easier for them to potentially commit identity theft.

The Social Security Administration hosts an annual day to raise awareness about scamming and to empower citizens to protect themselves. National Slam the Scam day is on March 7 and takes place during National Consumer Protection Week, March 3 to 9.

Government imposter scams occur when someone claims to be a Social Security Administration official or other government employee. They will ask personal information and can make threats or demands if you do not pay them on the spot.

“We (Social Security Administration) are the most frequently scammed government agency,” Doug Nguyen, the Social Security Administration Regional Communications Director for Indiana said. “We want to put the word out to people to use caution when people claim to be from a public agency. Hang up on suspicious calls. There is no need to spend more time on the phone if you believe it might be a scam, just hang up.”

The scamming has even gone as far as sending letters in the mail.

Even though they use different mediums for the scams, the messaging is always the same. Regardless of how they are contacting you, they are trying to scare you into believing that you must immediately share personal or payment information.

“We (Social Security Administration) want them to remember that scammers can pretend to be the government, hang prizes to be won, offer problems to be solved and pressure people into sending money,” Nguyen said. “There are many fake websites that imposter our website with url’s (link addressess) ending in ‘.com’, some even illegally use our logo.”

Partners of National Slam the Scam Day, including the Federal Trade Association, AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Fraud Network, United States Postal Inspection Service and National Consumer Protection Week will have live chats and conversations on March 7 on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

There will be live conversations in English and Spanish and they will be discussing tips on spotting scams. Information for those live events are available on the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice Website.

For resources, alerts, tips and reporting information for Social-Security related scams, visit ssa.gov/scam

Any other government imposter scams can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov/scams