Trump & Musk’s Social Security Scam
Fake Fraud Claims, Real Consequences
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have launched a coordinated campaign to push the idea that Social Security is riddled with fraud. When Michelle King, a 30-year veteran of the Social Security Agency, stepped down rather than grant access to DOGE, the conspiracy theories began. Trump, in typical hyperbolic fashion, claimed that “millions and millions” of deceased people are still receiving benefits. Musk went even further, suggesting that some recipients are as old as 150 years and that the system is hemorrhaging money due to “widespread fraud.”
These claims are not only misleading but dangerously irresponsible. While fraud does exist in Social Security—as in any large-scale government program—the idea that millions of fake beneficiaries are robbing the system blind is simply not supported by evidence. In reality, the biggest issue facing Social Security isn’t fraud. It’s outdated technology and incomplete records, which could be fixed with a long-overdue system upgrade.
Yet, instead of calling for much-needed investments in modernization, Trump and Musk’s solution appears to be mass-stopping payments to flagged accounts, which would wrongfully strip benefits from millions of seniors, many of whom depend on Social Security for survival. This isn’t about fixing the system; it’s about manufacturing a crisis to justify cuts.
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The Reality: Social Security Fraud is Exaggerated
The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays out $1.4 trillion annually to nearly 67 million beneficiaries. Fraud, while it does happen, accounts for a microscopic fraction of that total.
In 2023, the SSA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) estimated that fraud-related losses totaled $100 million to $300 million—less than 0.02% of all Social Security payments.
The more significant issue isn’t fraud but overpayments, many of which stem from administrative errors, outdated software, and beneficiaries failing to report income changes. Improper payments amounted to about $10 billion in 2024, but most of that wasn’t fraud. It was due to bureaucratic mistakes that could be corrected with better technology.
As for Trump and Musk’s claim that millions of deceased people are still receiving checks? That, too, is wildly exaggerated. The real issue is SSA’s outdated record-keeping system, which sometimes incorrectly lists people’s age due to missing or incomplete birthdates, a data entry problem, not a fraud epidemic.
The Truth About the “150-Year-Old” Beneficiaries
One of the most misleading claims Musk and Trump have spread is that Social Security is paying benefits to individuals who are over 150 years old. Musk quipped, “Maybe Twilight is real, and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security.” While it is true that some SSA records show extraordinarily old ages, this is not proof of fraud. It’s a symptom of an outdated IT system.
This is a job for actual auditors, not DOGE. And the SSA has many safeguards and auditors that can and do resolve these issues.
1. Detection and Prevention of Fraud
a) Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General (SSA OIG)
The SSA OIG is a dedicated office responsible for investigating fraud.
It conducts audits, undercover operations, and reviews to detect fraud in retirement, disability, and survivor benefits.
The SSA OIG runs the Cooperative Disability Investigations (CDI) Program, which identifies false disability claims before benefits are issued.
b) Death Master File (DMF)
The SSA maintains the Death Master File, which helps stop payments to deceased individuals.
Government agencies, financial institutions, and credit bureaus regularly update this database to prevent fraud.
c) Data Matching and AI Algorithms
The SSA cross-checks benefit recipients with IRS, Medicare, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) records.
AI-powered fraud detection algorithms flag suspicious activities, such as duplicate Social Security numbers, sudden changes in direct deposit accounts, or benefits claimed from unusual locations.
2. Investigations & Law Enforcement Action
a) SSA Fraud Hotline & Whistleblower Tips
The SSA encourages reporting of fraud via hotlines, online forms, and whistleblower protections.
Thousands of tips are received yearly, leading to investigations and criminal referrals.
b) Special Agents & Federal Investigators
The SSA OIG employs criminal investigators who work with the FBI, IRS, and Department of Justice (DOJ).
Undercover operations target identity theft, disability fraud, and benefit misuse.
3. Prosecution and Penalties
a) Criminal Charges
The Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutes serious fraud cases.
Charges may include wire fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy.
Convictions can result in prison sentences, hefty fines, and benefit repayment.
b) Civil Penalties & Administrative Actions
The SSA can impose civil monetary penalties if fraud is detected but not criminally prosecuted.
Individuals caught committing fraud may lose eligibility for future benefits.
c) Fraud Recovery Efforts
The SSA aggressively recovers overpaid or fraudulently obtained funds.
In FY 2023, over $100 million in fraudulent benefits was recovered.
The SSA has multiple layers of fraud detection and law enforcement cooperation to investigate and prosecute offenders aggressively.
The Real Problem: Bad Technology
SSA databases, which rely on COBOL-based software from the 1950s, require a birthdate field for every beneficiary. If an individual’s birthdate was never recorded correctly, the system autofills a placeholder value. In many cases, this has led to beneficiaries appearing far older than they actually are.
Additionally, some of the records in question belong to individuals who were never beneficiaries at all. Social Security’s Death Master File contains historical records dating back to the 1930s, and due to software limitations, some of these entries have been improperly flagged as active. These are not cases of fraud but of inaccurate data management.
Rather than stopping benefits en masse to flagged accounts, a simple IT upgrade could fix these anomalies and prevent the spread of misinformation.
The Solution: A Long-Overdue SSA System Upgrade
The real crisis in Social Security isn’t fake beneficiaries. It’s the outdated technology running the system. SSA still relies on COBOL, a programming language from the 1950s that makes it difficult to track beneficiaries, verify records, and prevent overpayments properly.
The fix is clear: SSA needs the same modernization effort that other federal agencies have undergone.
Upgrade the IT Infrastructure: Move from COBOL-based mainframes to cloud-based systems that process records more efficiently. Estimated cost: $2-4 billion.
Improve Data Matching: Implement real-time cross-checking between SSA, IRS, Medicare, and Homeland Security records to prevent overpayments without stopping legitimate benefits. Estimated cost: $500 million - $1 billion.
Fix the Death Master File: The SSA already maintains a Death Master File (DMF) to prevent payments to deceased individuals. However, due to old software and slow reporting from states, errors persist. A modern verification system would dramatically reduce these errors without mass suspensions. Estimated cost: $500 million - $1 billion.
Enhance Cybersecurity: Given that Trump and Musk are pushing for outside agencies to access SSA’s data, cybersecurity enhancements are more critical than ever. Estimated cost: $500 million - $1 billion.
Train SSA Staff & Improve Accessibility: Any IT upgrade must include training for SSA employees and better online services for beneficiaries. Estimated cost: $1-2 billion.
Total cost? Somewhere between $5-9 billion, a fraction of the $1.4 trillion Social Security budget and far cheaper than the potential chaos of mass benefit stoppages.
There is Precedent for This Kind of Overhaul
This kind of modernization isn’t new—the government has already successfully upgraded other federal agencies.
The IRS is in the middle of a $10 billion modernization effort, replacing decades-old tax processing systems.
Medicare underwent a multi-billion-dollar IT upgrade to improve fraud detection and real-time eligibility tracking.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is spending $16 billion to overhaul its medical records system to serve veterans better.
If we can spend billions modernizing other agencies, why are we leaving Social Security—the backbone of America’s retirement system—stuck in the 1950s?
Trump and Musk’s Real Agenda: Creating a Crisis to Justify Benefit Cuts
If Trump and Musk cared about fixing Social Security, they’d demand a modernization plan like the IRS and VA upgrades. Instead, their only solution is to stop payments to flagged accounts, regardless of whether the recipients are fraudsters or just victims of outdated record-keeping.
This is not about fixing inefficiencies. This is about creating a manufactured crisis, a scare tactic designed to lay the groundwork for benefit cuts.
We’ve seen this playbook before:
In 2005, George W. Bush used the “Social Security is going bankrupt” narrative to push for privatization.
In 2017, Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, floated raising the retirement age and cutting benefits.
Now, in 2025, Trump and Musk are using false fraud claims to justify actions that would throw millions of seniors into financial chaos.
This isn’t about fixing Social Security; it’s about dismantling it.
The Bottom Line: Don’t Fall for the Hype—Demand Real Solutions
Social Security isn’t drowning in fraud; it’s drowning in outdated technology. The answer isn’t mass-stopping payments or fearmongering about 150-year-old beneficiaries. The answer is modernization, just like the IRS, Medicare, and VA have done.
Trump and Musk’s false fraud claims are just another excuse to justify cutting benefits. If they were serious about fixing Social Security, they’d push for system upgrades, not attacking the people who rely on the program the most.
It’s time for Congress to stop playing politics with Social Security and fund the technology upgrades it desperately needs. Yes, Congress is the one that has to authorize those upgrades. Otherwise, we risk allowing right-wing billionaires to dismantle a system that millions of Americans depend on based on nothing more than a lie.
I will tell you from dealing with multiple deaths in my family that social security payments are stopped immediately.
I’m all for upgrading the technology. I’m just against a sneaky SOB who refuses to abide by the laws of the land and our constitution.