The checker reads one suspicious email. Batmail reads your whole inbox overnight.
Paste the Social Security email into the checker and it reads it for the signs below.
The checker reads the sender address, the wording, any link address you paste with the email and what the email asks you to do. It gives a verdict, a risk score from 0 to 100, the exact wording behind each red flag and what to do next. It is free and needs no signup.
Batmail phishing email checker
Read the sender's address from the right, because the last two parts say who owns it.
Anyone can put “Social Security” in front of an address. The part to read is the domain, after the @ in a sender or after the https:// in a link. Read it from the right: the last two parts name the owner, and everything in front of them is only a label the owner chose. Social Security’s inspector general says official Social Security communications originate from email addresses ending in .gov, and lists a sender address that does not end in .gov as a sign of a fake. The address of Social Security’s own site is ssa.gov, so the owner of www.ssa.gov is ssa.gov.
Read the domain from the right
www.ssa.gov
From Social SecurityOwned by ssa.gov. It ends in .gov, as the inspector general says official Social Security email addresses do.
ssa.gov.statement-portal.example
Not from Social SecurityOwned by statement-portal.example. ssa.gov is only a label in front of it, and the address does not end in .gov.
social-security-statements.example
Not from Social SecurityOwned by social-security-statements.example. The name has Social Security in it, but the address does not end in .gov.
From SSA Office of the Inspector General: Surge in fraudulent Social Security statement emails, read 8 November 2026.
To check a Social Security email, delete it and go to ssa.gov/myaccount yourself.
The inspector general says not to click links or open attachments in unsolicited messages, and to go directly to ssa.gov/myaccount to access or set up your Social Security account. Its general advice is short: Stop. Think scam. Talk to someone you trust before paying.
How to check a message that says it is from Social Security
- Stop
Click nothing, open nothing.
The inspector general says not to click links or open attachments in unsolicited messages.
- Think scam
Talk to someone you trust.
The inspector general's advice is: Stop. Think scam. Talk to someone you trust before paying.
- Go direct
Type ssa.gov/myaccount yourself.
The inspector general says to go directly to ssa.gov/myaccount to access or set up your account.
From SSA Office of the Inspector General: Surge in fraudulent Social Security statement emails, read 8 November 2026.
From SSA Office of the Inspector General: Unexpected call or message, think scam first, read 8 November 2026.
Five steps tell you whether a Social Security email is real without clicking anything.
- Leave the button and every attachment alone. The inspector general says not to click links or open attachments in unsolicited messages, and not to respond or provide personal information.
- Read the sender’s actual address from the right, as in the picture above. The inspector general says official Social Security email addresses end in .gov.
- Go directly to ssa.gov/myaccount to see your account, as the inspector general says, instead of using anything in the email.
- Paste the email into the checker at the top of this page for a second read.
- Delete the email and report it. The inspector general says to report to oig.ssa.gov/report. In Gmail you can also choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
Steps from SSA Office of the Inspector General: Surge in fraudulent Social Security statement emails, read 8 November 2026.
Steps from Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails, read 8 November 2026.
If you clicked or shared information, the inspector general says to stop contact and call your financial institutions.
After a click or a reply, the inspector general says to stop all communication with the suspected scammer and to contact financial institutions to protect your accounts. It says to report to the Office of the Inspector General, to file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and to report the scam to the FTC, and to contact local law enforcement if you lose money.
What to do depends on what you did
You only read it.
Delete it immediately and report it at oig.ssa.gov/report.
You clicked, or opened the attachment.
Stop all communication with the suspected scammer. If something may have downloaded, update your computer's security software and run a scan.
You gave personal information, or paid.
Contact your financial institutions to protect your accounts, and local law enforcement if you lost money. Follow the steps at IdentityTheft.gov for what you shared.
From SSA Office of the Inspector General: Surge in fraudulent Social Security statement emails, read 8 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed, read 8 November 2026.
From FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams, read 8 November 2026.
The same checks work on other government emails.
A message that threatens you can borrow the name of any agency. The guide to fake IRS emails covers a notice that asks for payment, and the guide to fake Medicare emails covers a message that asks for your Medicare Number. The holiday scam emails guide puts the kinds side by side.
These are the questions people ask next.
How can I tell a real Social Security email from a fake one?
Social Security's Office of the Inspector General says official Social Security communications originate from email addresses ending in .gov. It lists sender addresses that do not end in .gov, links or attachments labeled as statements or documents, official-looking logos and formatting, and messages that create urgency as signs of a fake.
Does Social Security email a statement to download?
In February 2026 the inspector general warned of a surge in fraudulent emails that falsely claim to provide access to your Social Security statement. It says these emails are not from the Social Security Administration, and that to access or set up your Social Security account you should go directly to ssa.gov/myaccount.
Will Social Security suspend my Social Security number?
A threat to suspend your number is a sign of a scam. The inspector general describes a scam email with the subject "Alert: Social Security Account Issues Detected" and an attachment claiming your number will be suspended within 24 hours, and says its office will never send letters like this. It lists a threat of suspension or arrest among the signs of a scam.
Can a scammer use a real Social Security employee's name?
Yes. The inspector general says the scammer in that email impersonates an SSA employee and may use a real employee's name to request personal information. A name on a message is not proof of who sent it.
How do I report a fake Social Security email?
The inspector general says to delete it immediately and report it. It points to oig.ssa.gov/report for the Office of the Inspector General, ic3.gov for the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, and the Federal Trade Commission. In Gmail you can also choose More next to Reply, then Report phishing.
What if I clicked a link or shared information?
The inspector general says to stop all communication with the suspected scammer, contact your financial institutions to protect your accounts, and contact local law enforcement if you lose money. IdentityTheft.gov lists the steps that match the information you shared.
Every step on this page comes from these official pages.
Read on . Spot a step that has changed? Email support@batmail.ai and we will fix it.
- SSA Office of the Inspector General: Surge in fraudulent Social Security statement emails
- SSA Office of the Inspector General: Unexpected letter, text or email, think scam first
- SSA Office of the Inspector General: Unexpected call or message, think scam first
- FTC Consumer Advice: What To Do if You Were Scammed
- FTC Consumer Advice: How To Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams
- IdentityTheft.gov
- Gmail Help: Avoid & report phishing emails