The Social Security Administration announced on Tuesday its plans to perform an "anti-fraud check" on claims filed by phone and walk-back services over the phone.
"Beginning on April 14," the agency announced on X, the Social Security Administration "will perform an anti-fraud check on all claims filed over the telephone and flag claims that have fraud risk indicators."
The announcement comes amid the Department of Government Efficiency's findings of alleged waste, fraud and abuse, such as noncitizens getting Social Security numbers and payments to accounts said to be "100, 200 and even 300 years old."
However, according to a report from the Associated Press, the numbers cited by Musk and DOGE are overstated and misrepresent Social Security data. In addition, immigrants who are legally authorized to work in the United States do receive Social Security numbers, while undocumented immigrants who do not have legal work authorization do not.
People whose accounts were flagged for possible fraud will be required to prove their identity in person, Tuesday's post added. If no fraud is detected, they can continue to process their claims online.
"We will continue to conduct 100 percent ID proofing for all in-person claims. 4.5 million telephone claims a year and 70K may be flagged," the Social Security Administration wrote.
Last month, the agency announced that people could no longer verify their identity over the phone. But on Tuesday, the agency walked back its notice, stating that the phone would remain "a viable option to the public."
Nick Koutsobinas ✉
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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