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Last summer the Social Security Administration issued a warning about a rise in artificial intelligence-generated fraud to scam seniors out of their benefits. One SSA official told U.S. House members that criminals “will use AI to make fraudulent schemes easier and faster to execute.” Despite that warning, 75% of Social Security recipients are unaware of AI-powered fraud schemes targeting them, according to a report from legal services firm Atticus.
The report, issued last fall, was based on a survey of 1,000 Americans to gauge their perception of AI-driven Social Security fraud. The average age of respondents was 60. Half were baby boomers, 22% were Gen X, and 28% were millennials. Among its other findings:
- Nearly 1 in 5 Social Security recipients aren’t confident in their ability to recognize AI-driven Social Security scams.
- Nearly 1 in 20 Social Security recipients have fallen victim to a Social Security benefits scam, losing an average of more than $400 per scam.
- More than 10% of respondents couldn’t correctly identify all fraud scenarios in the Atticus study.
In terms of the type of information AI scammers requested, half of the survey respondents said it was personal info such as names, birthdates and Social Security numbers. Nearly half (46%) said it was Social Security payment information and account access credentials, while the same percentage said it was financial info such as bank account numbers and credit card details. One-third said they were asked to provide address and contact information.
AI-generated Social Security fraud has become an increasingly big worry for government officials because of the sophistication of the scams and the lack of AI knowledge on the part of many seniors.
“[Seniors] are prime targets as they typically have some form of accumulated savings or retirement and they tend to be less technologically savvy,” David Derigiotis, an author and chief insurance officer for Embroker, told Newsweek in an interview late last year. “Verifying the legitimacy of communications from federal programs, such as Social Security, is crucial to avoid falling for a scam.”
In a July 2023 press release, the SSA cited an investigation by its Office of the Inspector General which found that an AI-powered chatbot was used to impersonate Social Security beneficiaries and contact customer service representatives to “divert monthly benefit payments to spurious accounts.”
As with other government impersonation scams, the chatbot numbers originated from overseas. In this case, the chatbots “were effective” in moving stolen Social Security benefits into the stream of U.S. criminal commerce, where organized rings of “money mules” collected and moved the stolen money.
In response, SSA Inspector General Gail Ennis established an internal Task Force to study AI and related technology. One goal is to determine the tools, processes and staffing needed to investigate and deter AI-related fraud.
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