An AI Chatbot Duped Social Security Staffers. The SSA Has Taken Notice.

The U.S. Social Security Administration is the latest government agency to outline its plans to confront emerging challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of artificial intelligence technologies, including the already-successful use of AI-based chatbots to steal money from unwary SSA staffers and beneficiaries.

To that end, the special agent in charge of the major case unit within the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General briefed members of Congress last week about the emerging threats presented by artificial intelligence — especially its potential use to defraud Social Security beneficiaries.

According to special agent Anthony “AJ” Monaco, a recent investigation conducted by the SSA’s Inspector General discovered that an AI-powered chatbot was successfully used to impersonate beneficiaries and contact customer service representatives to divert monthly benefit payments to spurious accounts.

Like the more common government impersonation scams SSA investigates, the chatbot numbers originated from overseas, Monaco said.

The chatbots were effective in moving stolen Social Security benefits into the stream of criminal commerce here in the United States, where organized rings of “money mules” collected and moved the proceeds, Monaco noted.

Monaco spoke before members of the House Committee on Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Social Security. In addition to briefing the members on the chatbot attack, he also spoke more broadly about the SSA’s planned response to AI-assisted threats to Social Security’s critical programs and systems.