am unclear on how replying to a real OIG\SSA address is an abnormal risk.
i have noticed nothing fishy regarding the origination of the letter...there is nothing to mention on a omsbudsman call regarding 'this letter did not come from OIG\SSA because of typos\barcodes\case#\etc....'

Scammers are getting more and more sophisticated. One of the big "scam busters" on youtube recently had a video on how even HE had just fallen for a scam.

I recently got a phone call from Bank Of America fraud department w/r/t a possible fradulent charge on one of my 3 BAC credit cards. When I challenged him to prove he was legit, he told me the credit limit and current balance on each of the cards.
I quickly logged on to my account and saw that there was no activity on any of the cards. He had my balances & limits exactly right.

His accent, of course, gave him away. But when I said I thought he was a scammer he yelled "I am trying to help you! Don't you want me to help you?" Which solidified that he was a scammer.


Your default position should be that any unexpected contact asking for information or offering help, be it mail or phone, is a scam.

And, BTW, Social Security Administration has nothing to do with any pension you might have. SS is completely different from pensions and there is no connection.

Just by sending them a letter you might be giving the scammer information that they can use to perpetrate their _actual_ scam on you.

Call your local SS office. They can tell you if there has been anything on your account. Any contact they would have with you would be documented and attached to your SS file.