Social Security Takes Fraud Seriously
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: August 19, 2021
One out of five Americans receives benefits from Social Security, including elderly retirees, people with severe illnesses, and widows and children of deceased wage earners.
With so many of our country’s most vulnerable citizens depending on us, we take our responsibility of providing them with a measure of financial security seriously.
One way we do that is by making a priority our many efforts to pursue those who would cheat the system and take money away from those who need it most.
The agency’s benefit programs are far-reaching and complex, which means that preventing, detecting, and combatting fraud, waste, and abuse is an ongoing challenge. Although we can’t prevent every instance of fraud any more than law enforcement can prevent all crimes, we aggressively investigate potential instances of fraud and pursue prosecution of those who commit it.
Our Office of Anti-Fraud Programs (OAFP) uses many tools to help predict where fraud may occur so we can identify it as quickly as possible. OAFP works alongside the Office of the Inspector General, and Disability Determination Services in the Cooperative Disability Investigation (CDI) program. CDI units investigate and resolve questions of fraud in our programs. There are stiff penalties: We seek the maximum punishment allowable under the law to restore money stolen from the American people. As a result, fraud affects only a very small percentage of our overall payments.
You can help protect your investment in Social Security. Take time to learn all the facts on how we work to prevent fraud. Remember, if you suspect fraud, report it or call the fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271.
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Tags: fraud, social security, SSA
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Phil Gambino, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications
Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Communications
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dani
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Beverly
It has all been taken care of. Thank you!
Beverly
R.F.
Hi Beverly! We’re glad that everything is fine now. For future reference, if a check is not received on the scheduled pay date, we usually advise people to wait three business days after the date they normally receive their check before calling us. To report a late, missing, or stolen check, beneficiaries can call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Also, your son may find the Schedule of Social Security Benefit Payments calendar helpful.
Beverly
My son is one of the few people who still receives a SSI check in the mail. We haven’t been able to convince him to set up direct deposit – he doesn’t feel capable of handling a bank account.
Anyhow, his SSI check did not arrive this month. We don’t think it was stolen as we always pick up our mail right away when it comes. What should he do at this point? He still lives with us and needs our help with many things. Thank you.
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Amber G.
Someone I know started taking small jobs online while receiving SSI. They were worried that they wouldn’t be able to support themselves when they started so they didn’t report the income to Social Security.
It’s been two years now, and they are doing well, but they still haven’t reported anything. They’d like to reconcile the situation and start paying back what they owe, and maybe end their benefits altogether, but they don’t know how. Are they facing certain jail time, or can this issue be reconciled.
David j.
I believe my ex wife is using my name so number making false claims using my son’s I’d too gain ssi illeagally and has been doing kit for years help bring this crime too justice not first time or thing she’s has done
Carrie
I just turned.40. I started working at age 15. I have had a LOT of various jobs, and I can only recall a few jobs in which I resigned because I had another employment prospect lined up. All the other jobs I ended up being fired from, for various lame reasons that really had more to with managers who for whatever reasons were personal against me, personality conflicts in retrospect now looking back but yet wouldnt reflect that in company records because those.managers had to make up reasons to get of me in a few cases.
Anyhow, I could go into all the details, but.in already doing so for myself in order to figure out how to best move forward, somehow doing this has created so much anxiety and ptsd slowly but gradually all these years because I never ever really except for at one job did.anything that was totally deserving of being terminated such as stealing of any sort, criminal acts, actions that are willful if that makes sense.
Anything I guess outside of having a disability, and I clearly can see that having adhd and narcolepsy in daylight hours really should be considered a disability.
And by disability I don’t necessarily mean that as in anyone who really had it should collect disability, but rather how employers are not supposed to discriminate against employees who have a disability.
if I can’t even get a good city, county goverernment type job soon enough after all the applications and tests that I have taken and phone interviews and employment waiting lists I’ve been placed on to no avail….
I’m sorry, but.I’m done.getting fired over and over and.over.. consider my application for social security disability for the money I have paid into the system for all my earnings going back 26 years , my last and.final.job to do. My too weak notice
Because I can’t change who I am , how I am. It has been a huge issue before I was diagnosed with Adhd and afterwords on meds and off.
The.applicating for.this.though is even more tedious than doing online job applications. I couldn’t even comprehend most of it. I get the Fraud issue, I really really really do. So does Judge Judy. It’s one of her pet peeves and hot buttons and she will expose anyone for.it and call them out on it when it is relevant to a case.
I don’t feel entitled.to SSD, Im just asking for the help even it temporarily..
Please
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