The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced in a recent post on social media platform X that, starting April 14, it will perform anti-fraud monitoring on all claims filed over the phone, which will result in some beneficiaries having to report in person to their local SSA office.
The shift applies to the more than 73.2 million people who currently receive Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
But in-person requirements only apply when beneficiaries need to change their direct deposit information by phone and when a potential claimant applies for benefits over the phone and their application is flagged, according to Darcy Milburn, Director of Social Security and Health Care Policy at The Arc.
The Arc is a nonprofit that serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Milburn advises using in-person or online services through a my Social Security account to minimize circumstances in which claimants will be flagged.
“We are recommending that applicants and beneficiaries set up my Social Security accounts, if possible, because SSA is increasingly encouraging people to use online services,” Milburn told NTD. “The enhanced security measures do not apply to claims filed online using a my Social Security account or in person.”
Why Changes Are Happening
The monitoring comes after some $16.5 million was spent on modernizing the SSA’s telephone services with systems that alert employees to suspicious activity, according to a statement from the administration.
“We are modernizing how we serve the public—enhancing both security and accessibility,” wrote Leland Dudek, acting SSA commissioner, in the statement. “These updates improve our ability to detect and prevent fraud while providing more flexible options for people to access their benefits.”
How Fraud Will Be Detected
The SSA added that potentially fraudulent telephone claims would be identified based on pattern analyses and anomalies in a claimant’s account.
Higher telephone demand will be managed with added surge capacity, the SSA said.
“We will continue to conduct 100 percent ID proofing for all in-person claims,” the SSA said on X. “4.5 million telephone claims a year and 70,000 may be flagged. Telephone remains a viable option to the public.”
Review Triggers
But attorney Shane Lucado, founder of legal marketplace InPerSuit.com, warns that limiting in-person verification to only 70,000 flagged users is efficient only if the criteria are valid and consistently applied.
Reasonable fraud risk indicators include multiple address changes in a short timeframe, mismatched personal data across filings, or the use of contact numbers linked to prior flagged claims, according to Lucado, who is based in Birmingham, Alabama.
“High-volume caller patterns, repeated rescheduling of interviews, or bank account changes that do not match name or location may trigger review,” Lucado told NTD. “Systems will always prioritize anomalies in data and timing.”
