Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has its eyes locked on the Social Security Administration, after making claims of massive fraud. To curb government waste of funds, DOGE has pushed for controversial changes in the SSA that have caused it to strain making it harder for seniors to access their benefits. According to critics one of them being Mark Cuban, these fraud claims are just ways of forcing cut payments and disabling the agency.
Claims of Fraud in SSA
Recently, Elon Musk publicly stated that SSA’s records include beneficiaries who are purportedly dead but are still receiving benefits. He jokingly remarked, “Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.” This insinuated that SSA was paying billions to ghost beneficiaries.
President Donald Trump seconded these concerns suggesting that there were millions of people over 100 years receiving Social Security benefits suggesting concerning levels of fraud and incompetence in the agency.
Experts of a former official of SSA clarified that such unproven claims misinterpreted the agency’s data manage,ment practices. Michael Astrue who was once an SSA Commissioner under President George Bush and Barack Obama stated that there lacks evidence to show that there is fraud within SSA and that all these claims from DOGE are false.
According to SSA, confusion arises from how it handles unknown or unverified birthdates in its system. When information is lacking, e.g. birthdate information, the SSA system sometimes assigns placeholder dates which act as administrative tools and not actual information of already deceased individuals.
The Truth About Improper Payments
Although no system is entirely accurate, the SSA maintains that they have done its best to maintain high accuracy of data in its payments. According to audits, Social Security payments made improperly were less than 1% and this does not indicate massive fraud as purported by President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE.
Misinterpretation of SSA Data
In February 2025, SSA said that Elon Musk shared a chart on social media purportedly showing over 398 million Social Security numbers that were eligible for benefits. According to SSA, these were Social Security numbers ever issued by the agency and not a representation of the current number of beneficiaries. SSA reported that they had 68.4 million recipients in 2024 and this number was justifiable given the population of the USA.
Political and Administrative Implications of These Fraud Claims
The false claims by DOGE and Musk have led to significant administrative actions including attempts to access sensitive SSA data and proposals to reduce the number of workers greatly. These moves have raised concerns among advocacy groups and lawmakers about potential disruptions that might cripple the operations of SSA making it difficult for beneficiaries to receive their checks.
Frank Bisignano, who was nominated as SSA commissioner by President Trump, has pledged to review the actions and policies of DOGE, indicating a change in how DOGE approaches the SSA. He also asserted his commitment to ensure that the agency delivers its services with integrity and efficiency without compromising its core mission.
Conclusion
The claims of massive fraud within the Social Security Administration as purported by Elon Musk and DOGE lack substantive evidence and are also based on misinterpreted information. Although it’s important to be vigilant against fraud, it is equally important to have accurate evidence to avoid tarnishing names and disrupting vital public services unnecessarily.
Since its formation on August 14, 1935, SSA has delivered its services to American taxpayers efficiently and with integrity. Although errors are a common thing, SSA has also been able to maintain low levels of improper payments over the years.