SCOOP: Since SSA installed new anti-fraud checks on claims made over the phone, only 2 claims out of over 110,000 were found to likely be fraudulent, according to internal documents I obtained.
The policy has slowed down payments, though. Retirement claim processing is down 25%
Natalie Alms
4,468 posts
journalist who covers how the government works—or doesn't—at @NOTUSreports. Previously @NextgovFCW. NC native, DC resident.
tips - signal at nalms.41
- and as I sat down to eat lunch at 4pm on a busy day, i had to wonder... am i breaking news, or is news breaking me?
- Got my hands on an internal IRS report on how Direct File went this season. TLDR: pretty well. 94% of users said their experience was excellent or above average. That said, the IRS is reportedly killing the free tax filing service.
- Replying to @AlmsNatalie
- This email, sent broadly within the agency, was deleted from inboxes shortly after arriving, an employee tells meNEW: Social Security’s chief data officer, Charles Borges, has resigned, three days after submitting a whistle-blower complaint that alleged members of DOGE had uploaded the confidential personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to an insecure cloud server.
- reporters turning in big stories to their editors...My 2023 year-in-review:
- NEW: After my reporting on SSA’s fraud checks, SSA is changing the policy. The anti-fraud checks set up last month had slowed retirement claim processing by 25% and found only two claims filed over the phone — out of over 110,000 — that had a high probability of being fraud.
- Sooooo I missed the fact that he cited my reporting !?John Oliver talks through SSA's disability benefits. He called it "the key safety net" for disability in this country with a "nightmare" application processes youtube.com/watch?v=_hIOdi…
- "Reporters who know the difference between OMB and OPM are in demand right now."As President Trump and Elon Musk remake the federal government through firings, orders and brute force, small news publishers that specialize in the federal workforce are landing big scoops and seeing equally big traffic gains.
- Elon Musk says that he wants to fix the government's old tech, but so far the Trump admin has fired or laid off many tech feds that could help. The latest: 90 or so feds in 18f, a tech group at GSA, got an email they'd been laid off last night at 1am.
- lots of talk about administrative burden lately, but if you've ever wondered what it is exactly, here's your primer: fcw.com/digital-govern… also, learn about how @donmoyn and @pamela_herd are working on a better way to measure it
- Personal news: I was named as a finalist for the Jesse H. Neal awards today for my IRS coverage. The IRS and other agencies continue to do critical work, and it's my honor to tell those stories. I'll link to the work that's being recognized below.
- some ✨personal news✨ - I'm switching beats to cover federal tech policy; service delivery (think unemployment, food stamps, etc.) and the govt's tech workforce. if this is your jam, let's talk! find me at [email protected]
- first White House Correspondent's Association dinner. really, really proud to be able to do the job that I do.











