Taking Action: Victims of Social Security fraud say there is nowhere to turn

TAMPA - It is the kind of fraud investigators say they can not stop.  From the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office to the Secret Service, law enforcement reports Social Security theft is spiking and the system is to blame.

Bill Shelton arms himself against the wild anytime he tackles the bush and brush on his acre in Riverview.

But the .44 Magnum failed to protect Bill from a thief who routed his $971 direct deposit from Social Security into a stranger's account.

"We called Social Security and they said I'd changed it to GE Money Bank in El Paso Texas and I said I did not," said Shelton.

Nearly a grand stolen, and the victim claims not one agency investigated. "I could not get anyone to do anything.  There was not one agency in the state of Florida that would touch it."

Two dozen others filed similar reports with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in recent months.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Cpl. Bruce Crumpler, who supervises the economic crimes unit, fears more than a few fraudsters have figured out how to change direct deposit information within the Social Security system.

Yet the sheriff's office and other local agencies don't take these cases as they see the stealing of federal funds as a federal law enforcement issue.

The Secret Service confirms it is investigating but both local and federal agents say the problem lies within the system and only Social Security can stop it.

Five pieces of information -- that's all you need to re-route someone's Social Security direct deposit.  Data investigators say all five can be found in your mail and online.

Carl Stamper found out someone changed his direct deposit information after receiving a confirmation letter from Social Security.

He was able to get through to the agency before payday. But others, like Bill Shelton, say they never got a letter.

We asked Social Security’s Office of Inspector General about the problem.  In an email, a spokesperson wrote, "... the Office of the Inspector General ... is investigating reports of individuals redirecting direct-deposit Social Security benefits to accounts that they control or have access to. As this is a criminal investigation, I'm afraid I can't share more details."

But the agency would not comment on any plan to stop the fraud. Senator Bill Nelson says his office received enough complaints and that prompted him to meet with the head of Social Security.

"We are finding additional thefts of SS numbers are causing false information being given to SS and the SS check is being sent to the wrong address or wrong bank account," said Nelson.

The Senator expects the Inspector General's office to compile a report and make recommendations aimed at preventing Social Security fraud.

In Bill Shelton's case, it wasn't until the I-Team and Senator Nelson's office made calls that Social Security refunded his check -- three months after the theft.

To avoid this or any other type of identify theft treat your trash and mail carefully, select intricate passwords on line and always verify a source before sharing private information.

The Federal Trade Commission has put together every thing you need to protect yourself and your private information.  Just visit http://www.ftc.gov/idtheft to get to the identity theft guide.