The Social Security Administration on Tuesday announced that it had launched a cleanup of tens of millions of social security numbers (SSNs) in the largest such operation in the agency’s history.
“This is the first time SSA has undertaken an effort of this scale, and I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the foundation of identity data relied upon throughout government and the economy,” SSA Commissioner and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in a statement.
The cleanup includes the addition of death dates to 17 million SSNs, adding citizenship information to 25 million files, and correcting a further 8.5 million. SSA also announced the creation of additional internal control mechanisms to fix and prevent inaccuracies in its records.
“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens,” Bisignano added. “Accurate SSN records prevent fraud across federal programs and support the proper administration of benefits.”
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.
