WASHINGTON — IRS Commissioner Frank Bisignano stated that a review of the Social Security number database found an error rate of over 10% among recipients. The review identified live Social Security numbers attached to erroneous listings that could be exploited for fraud, waste, and abuse.

He stated that individuals with these erroneous listings were not necessarily collecting Social Security benefits but were using live Social Security numbers for other government purposes. He said the erroneous payments amounted to as much as $30 million, though not all of that money was disbursed.

"Cases are currently being investigated," Bisignano said. He said some fraudsters involved in the erroneous listings have been referred to the Department of Justice for investigation. He said recipients facing erroneous payments will face probes by the Treasury or the Department of Justice when criminal charges are warranted.

He said the federal government had not reconciled the Social Security database in this manner since 1935. He said the federal government has been paying out money erroneously for a long time.

Separate efforts by the Treasury Department have targeted payments to deceased individuals. The Treasury Department halted nearly $100 million in payments to deceased payees since March 2025. Approximately $99 million in Social Security benefits paid to deceased recipients has been recovered.

The money was recovered through the Treasury’s Do Not Pay program, which checks recipients’ identities, eligibility, and bank information before disbursing federal funds. Treasury officials predicted that roughly $330 million in net benefits improperly paid to deceased people will eventually be recouped.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Treasury has delivered on President Trump’s mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury. He said the new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure every dollar the federal government spends reaches its intended recipient.

Bessent added that the Treasury will continue efforts to modernize the federal payment system, strengthen safeguards against fraud and improper payments, and protect taxpayer dollars. Access to the Social Security Administration’s Full Death Master File, granted by a federal law passed in 2021, helped reconcile deceased or improper payment recipients. President Trump signed a law in February 2025 making the Treasury’s access to the Full Death Master File permanent.

A senior official close to SSA and IRS operations stated that the Social Security Administration is reconciling its books and records to ensure the Social Security Number Database (Numident) is accurate in real-time. The official said $150 million in fraudulent losses have been prevented since last year through these controls. The Social Security Administration intakes data from births, the Death Master File, the Department of Homeland Security on non-citizens, and other sources to improve payment accuracy.

The IRS lost more than 31,000 employees as of January 2026, according to a report from the agency's inspector general. The IRS inspector general cited staffing shortages as a major concern for the agency and warned that the IRS faces elevated operational risks for the 2026 Filing Season due to staffing shortages, delayed hiring, and backlogs. The inspector general said key inventories waiting to be processed, such as amended tax returns and taxpayer correspondence, have increased.

A group of Senate Democrats led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren alleged in a letter that Bisignano may have lied to Congress about staffing issues at the IRS. Warren and her colleagues demanded that Bisignano clarify whether reports that the IRS was seeking special hiring authority are accurate and whether he was aware of an internal memo asking for hiring authority before his testimony. They asked Bisignano to clarify his basis for telling Congress there was no staffing shortage while seeking hiring authority due to a critical hiring need.

Bisignano testified before Congress in March that he feels good about the number of employees he has at the IRS and denied that the IRS was understaffed before the Senate Finance Committee in April. An internal memo reported by NOTUS requested expedited hiring authority due to ongoing staffing shortages that put the 2026 Filing Season at risk. The IRS inspector general said in a June report that staffing had contributed to delays in the agency's work.