Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a Quarterly Scam Update. It says it’s the 18th such update but it’s the first time I’ve seen it.
The report shows that Social Security scams reached a peak in 2020 but went way down in 2022 and have stayed much lower. Maybe the Trump Administration will claim credit for the reduction.Surprisingly, at least to me, those under the age of 50 were the most likely to be scammed but older people showed larger losses.
From Federal News Network:
The Social Security Administration is rolling out nationwide systems in the coming months that will impact how the agency schedules appointments for initial claims and triages its workload to employees.
SSA employees told Federal News Network that they’re used to processing claims submitted locally, but will soon tackle a nationwide inventory of cases.
Employees are wary that these changes will introduce more complexity to their workloads, as well as a higher risk of overpayments that SSA would have to claw back.
“Someone who applies in California could be speaking to an SSA rep in Maine,” one SSA employee said. …
[A] SSA employee said staff were briefed on these changes this week. The employee said staff submitted multiple requests to management seeking clarification on these points, but were told to “worry about today, not tomorrow.” …
The Strategic Organizing Center, which I’m unfamiliar with, has issued a report on the state of service at the Social Security Administration. It’s a discouraging read. Staffing is down and it’s far from uniform. Some states and areas within states have lost far more than others. I’d give you some excerpts but it seems to be set up to block copying. Read the original.
Lauren Reinhold, a longtime federal employee at the Social Security Administration, was swept up in Elon Musk’s DOGE purge of federal employees. Colin McRoberts, a professor at the University of Kansas business school, was inspired to run for office after attending Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall’s contentious March 1 town hall in Oakley.
Both Reinhold and McRoberts believe they can overcome the long odds Democrats have faced in the district by taking aim at Mann’s willingness to support an unpopular Republican agenda.
“We were promised: ‘Things are going to be better for you.’ And I’m just one person, but they certainly were not better for me,” Reinhold said.
“I was lied to. I was told my prices would be lower,” she added. “I was told that things would be better for my kids. I was told they would fix health care. And it’s been a year, and none of that’s happened.” …
Social Security has a response to the “fake news” Washington Post article about the deterioration of service at the agency published by the Daily Caller, a far right wing publication. (The Daily Caller was the best you could do?) It amounts to saying that if you just rely on what is presented in Social Security’s press releases, you have to admit that things are getting better and better. “Who are you going to believe — me or your lying eyes?”
