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Shutdown Confusion Is Fueling Scam Calls
When people are worried about food assistance, health coverage, or government services, scammers move fast.
In a Chicago interview, Nomorobo explained how scam callers are exploiting government shutdown confusion with bogus offers tied to SNAP benefits, ACA/open enrollment, and health plans.
According to Nomorobo’s honeypot data, Chicago saw a major increase in suspicious call activity during the shutdown period compared to the same time last year:
- 170% increase in calls hitting Nomorobo’s honeypot phone lines
- 250% increase in unwanted calls, spam calls, and scam calls
That is not just more robocalls.
That is scammers following the headlines.
What Nomorobo Is Seeing
Nomorobo tracks scam activity using a honeypot network of about 300,000 phone lines. These are numbers that have not belonged to real people for years, so when they receive calls, it is a strong signal that the caller may be suspicious.
During the shutdown, two scam themes stood out.
Fake SNAP Benefit Calls
Scammers are promising emergency food money, grocery loans, or “free” help for people worried their SNAP benefits may expire or be delayed.
These calls may ask for personal information, financial details, or benefit-related information. The USDA warns consumers to protect their EBT card number and PIN and avoid sharing them with anyone outside the household.
Fake ACA and Health Plan Calls
Scammers are also using open enrollment to push fake or misleading health plan offers.
They may claim you need to switch plans, lower your premium, confirm eligibility, or provide a credit card number. For real health coverage help, go directly to HealthCare.gov or review HealthCare.gov’s guidance on how to protect yourself from Marketplace fraud and scams.
AI Is Making Scam Calls More Personal
AI voice cloning gets attention, but Nomorobo explained that scammers are also using AI to gather personal details from the web.
That can include names, addresses, old locations, partial Social Security numbers, or other information that makes a call sound more legitimate.
A scammer who says, “Hi, John Smith at 123 Main Street…” may sound more believable than a random robocall.
That is why reducing exposed personal information matters. Nomorobo’s Personal Information Protection helps find and remove personal data from people-search sites and data brokers.

Red Flags to Watch For
Be careful if a call:
- Promises emergency SNAP money
- Claims your benefits expired
- Offers “free” grocery funds
- Pushes you to switch health plans immediately
- Asks for your EBT card number or PIN
- Requests your Social Security, Medicare, insurance, or credit card information
- Uses personal details to sound official
- Pressures you to act right away
If the caller wants you to act immediately, slow down.
What To Do If You Get One of These Calls
If you receive a suspicious benefits related call:
- Hang up
- Do not press buttons
- Do not call back using the number on caller ID
- Do not share personal information
- Do not give your EBT PIN, Social Security number, Medicare number, or credit card number
Then verify through official channels.
For SNAP questions, contact your state SNAP agency.
For health coverage, go directly to HealthCare.gov.
For Medicare, go directly to Medicare.gov or use the official number on your Medicare card.
If you receive a suspicious call from an unknown number, check it with Nomorobo’s phone number lookup tool before calling back.
How Nomorobo Helps
Scam calls follow the news.
During tax season, scammers pretend to be the IRS.
During the holidays, they send fake delivery alerts.
During open enrollment, they push fake health plans.
During a shutdown, they target people worried about benefits.
Nomorobo helps block unwanted robocalls, scam calls, and spam texts before they reach your phone. You can also explore Nomorobo’s Fraud Fighters series to hear real scam examples and learn how fraudsters pressure victims.
Nomorobo helps stop their calls before they reach your phone.



