Elon Musk’s Crusade Against Fraud Impacts Social Security Payments

Elon Musk’s efforts to combat fraud and abuse have had a significant impact on the Social Security Administration’s ability to distribute payments, according to a recent report. The agency’s website has experienced frequent outages in recent weeks, which have been linked to the expansion of fraud checks earlier in the claims process. As reported by the Washington Post:

The network crashes appear to be caused by an expansion initiated by the Trump team of an existing contract with a credit-reporting agency that tracks names, addresses, and other personal information to verify customers’ identities. The enhanced fraud checks are now done earlier in the claims process and have resulted in a boost to the volume of customers who must pass the checks.

But the technology staff did not test the software against a high volume of users to see if the servers could handle the rush, current and former officials said. Connectivity issues and bugs with the expanded system have caused the portal that manages log-ins and authentication for many Social Security applications to go down, officials said.

It has been widely reported that the Social Security Administration is struggling in the wake of widespread cuts directed by President Trump and Musk’s DOGE government efficiency team. Fewer employees are available to provide phone support, which many older individuals prefer, and Musk has repeatedly alleged widespread fraud in the claims process. In one instance, he stated during a Wisconsin rally that 40% of calls to the agency are fraudulent, a claim that has not been supported by evidence. The new software-based checks are reportedly supposed to root out this supposed fraud, but DOGE has also directed the SSA to cut its IT staff, and pushing more individuals to the website, it has been unable to handle the increased load.

A Predictable Consequence

Outages of government websites are nothing new, and some on social media have commented that the SSA website experienced regular outages before the new administration began making changes. However, these service issues were predictable, and it is clear that the agency was not prepared to handle the increased volume of users. Musk’s experience with Twitter, where he laid off the majority of staff and managed to keep the service functioning, albeit with problems, may have emboldened him to make similar changes to the SSA.

The Human Impact

However, the distribution of payments necessary for living into retirement is of course more important than the uptime of a social network. The Post cited one such instance of a retiree struggling to get access to her new benefits:

In Upland, California, 72-year-old Kathy Stecher began trying to apply for retirement benefits more than a week ago. One of her first steps was to visit the Social Security website to book a required appointment at her local field office, because she believed she had to authenticate her identity in person first.

Stecher’s experience was marked by frustration, as the website would not allow her to schedule a visit, and when she finally reached someone on the phone, the booking tool was not working. The employee she spoke to said that similar problems have become routine, forcing customers to wait on hold for hours.

A Deliberate Effort to Cripple the Agency?

Retirees and others rely on Social Security payments for basic survival, and President Trump has repeatedly insisted he would not make changes to the program, which would be deeply unpopular. However, perhaps deliberately crippling the agency is the point. The program could be rendered ineffective and outsourced to private industry, as conservatives have long wanted to do. Under President Bush’s administration, there was a proposal to privatize Social Security that could have required individuals to convert their 401(k) holdings into annuities, thereby making their retirement payments influenced by the markets.

A Bad Idea

But people like Musk and Trump are rich beyond belief and do not have to worry about such working-class issues. Perhaps the greatest irony is that the ongoing trade war started by President Trump is expected to hurt his base, working-class Americans, the most. Apparently, it is unfair that the United States has to buy rare earth metals from other countries because they are not naturally found domestically.

The White House Response

The White House, for its part, has continued to reiterate that nothing is changing at the Social Security Administration. A spokesperson said in a recent statement, "With a resounding mandate from the American people, President Trump is moving quickly to fulfill his promise of making the federal government more efficient. He has promised to protect Social Security, and every recipient will continue to receive their benefits."