03 July 2025

Fwd: Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors

Follow up, for anyone who was as shocked as I was. DON'T CLICK ON ANYTHING in this email. ChatGPT says although the email server it comes from is used by government to distribute information, this is almost certainly fake propaganda, put out by someone trying to pose as the social security admin. Which begs the question... how did they get my e-mail address? And that makes me think: DOGE and data mining... the Surveillance State may have made stolen SSA information available to bad actors. This is really, really creepy.

If you are motivated to do something about this, as I am, here's ChatGPT's suggestion:

1. Report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

The FTC handles scam, fraud, and deceptive email reports — including impersonation of government agencies.

Go to: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
Click "Report Now"
Choose "Email" as the type of contact
Describe the email, sender address, and link behavior (e.g., that it claims to be from SSA, praises partisan legislation, and links to a private non-SSA domain like Granicus)
You can paste the email contents or upload a screenshot, if you have one

2. Report to the Social Security Administration's Fraud Team

The SSA has its own reporting system for impersonation or scam emails:

Go to: https://oig.ssa.gov/report/
Click "Submit a Report"
Choose "Scam Email or Letter"
Fill out the form describing the misleading message

You can reference that it claimed to come from SSA but included political content and redirected to subscriberhelp.granicus.com, a non-government domain.

3. Forward the Email to Government Phishing Monitors

Forward the original email (with headers intact, if possible) to:

phishing@ssa.gov
spam@uce.gov (FTC's spam monitoring inbox)

✍️ Sample Report Description (you can paste this into any form)

I received an email claiming to be from the Social Security Administration. It included overtly political language praising "Trump's One Big Ugly Bill," which is not appropriate for a government agency. In fine print it stated that the email was not produced at taxpayer expense, and when I clicked "Help," it redirected to a private third-party site, subscriberhelp.granicus.com. This appears to be a propaganda or scam email misusing the appearance of official government communication. Please investigate and take appropriate action.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: David Studhalter <oldionus@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Subject: Fwd: Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
To:

See below; I am forwarding the official e-mail I received from the Social Security Administration. I am speechless that this absolute crap, based on hideous and ridiculous lies, is being promulgated by an agency of the US government which is required by all norms and I'm pretty sure regulations to be politically neutral. If you agree with me that this is outrageous and shocking, please consider complaining to your Congressional and Senate representatives, as I will be doing.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Social Security Administration <subscription.service@subscriptions.ssa.gov>
Date: Thu, Jul 3, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Subject: Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
To: <oldionus@gmail.com>

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits.

Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.

The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.

"This is a historic step forward for America's seniors," said Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano. "For nearly 90 years, Social Security has been a cornerstone of economic security for older Americans. By significantly reducing the tax burden on benefits, this legislation reaffirms President Trump's promise to protect Social Security and helps ensure that seniors can better enjoy the retirement they've earned."

The new law includes a provision that eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries, providing relief to individuals and couples. Additionally, it provides an enhanced deduction for taxpayers aged 65 and older, ensuring that retirees can keep more of what they have earned.

Social Security remains committed to providing timely, accurate information to the public and will continue working closely with federal partners to ensure beneficiaries understand how this legislation may affect them.