MONROE — A new online form allows people to report Social Security-related scam calls directly to federal authorities.

The Social Security Administration and Office of the Inspector General announced the reporting form, accessible via oig.ssa.gov in recent weeks.

The number of Social Security-related scams has “skyrocketed” over the past year and is now the number one type of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission, according to the announcement. 

The scam callers try to trick victims into making cash or gift card payments to avoid arrest for purported problems with their Social Security accounts.

The new online form asks victims for detailed information such as how scammers identified themselves and how payments, if any, were taken.

Federal authorities plan to use the data collected on the form to analyze trends and commonalities, investigate leads and ultimately disrupt scammers.

The best line of defense against Social Security-related scam calls is to hang up and ignore them, according to the agency. Social Security employees typically communicate via letter and will never call to say a Social Security number has been “suspended,” demand an immediate payment, ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or promise a benefit approval in exchange for information or money.

Local police regularly get reports of scam calls but can’t do much to investigate locally because the calls typically originate elsewhere, often outside the United States, Chief of Police Fred Kelley has said.

Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said in a statement that the online portal is intended to raise awareness and is a step toward stopping scammers.

“I am deeply troubled that our country has not been able to stop these crooks from deceiving some of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Saul said.