Social Security cuts phone services in bid to address fraud
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A Social Security office in St Clair Shores, Mich.; Photo: Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The Social Security Administration will implement cuts to phone service in an effort to combat fraud, its acting commissioner said Tuesday.
Why it matters: Advocates and former agency officials have warned the costs of implementation could cripple Social Security.
Catch up quick: As Axios reported Monday, changes to phone service were proposed in a memo sent to acting commissioner Lee Dudek last week — and early versions of that memo warned of "significant" impacts for a broad range of benefit recipients.
How it works: The changes will be implemented quickly, he told a news conference Tuesday.
- "We're spending the next two weeks to train our field offices to respond to these changes," Dudek said.
- "These changes are not intended to hurt our customers."
- "I've made a commitment that we would monitor the situation closely," he added. "If it is to the detriment of the citizens we serve then we'll take necessary actions. If that means backing out the policy then we'll back it out. But we need to see what the results are."
- It's not clear by what measures results would be judged.
By the numbers: Dudek said the agency sees about $100 million a year in direct deposit fraud — a big number, but a very small fraction of the $1.6 trillion the agency pays out in benefits annually.
Yes, but: Advocates and former agency officials previously told Axios changes like these will curtail phone support for critical Social Security services — including when applicants first sign up for benefits.
- The agency has already announced plans to cut 12% of its workforce, and to close field offices — even as benefit recipients report delays in getting help with claims, and agency data shows backlogs.
- Dudek said some of those closures were of offices merely used for hearings that are now held online, while others were closed for health and safety reasons.
Between the lines: The pressure to tighten fraud controls came from DOGE, a former SSA official told Axios.
- A second former official, who recently worked in operations and spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said the money it would cost to implement these changes would dwarf any savings that would come from cracking down on identity fraud.
