LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — The Social Security Administration (SSA) will soon require in-person identity verification for millions of Americans requesting direct deposit changes, ending the option to complete the process by phone.

The change, which takes effect March 31, will apply to new benefit applicants and current recipients who are unable to verify their identity through the agency’s “my Social Security” online portal. Those individuals will be required to visit a field office in person to complete the verification process, according to the Associated Press.

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The new policy is aimed at curbing direct deposit fraud, which SSA officials say is costing the agency over $100 million annually.

“Social Security can better protect Americans while expediting service,” Acting Commissioner Leland Dudek said. “The information that we use through knowledge-based authentication is already in the public domain. This is a common sense measure.”

Alongside the new verification policy, the SSA will also speed up direct deposit updates, processing both online and in-person requests within one business day— a change from the previous 30-day hold on online requests.

Additionally, the change coincides with plans to close over 40 field offices nationwide, according to the Department of Government Efficiency. SSA officials said the closures target small remote hearing offices, not full-service locations.

Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme” and claimed fraud is widespread in the system.