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Social Security Administration Plans to Raise Identity Verification Fees by Nearly 900%
September 21, 2009Effective October 1, 2009, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will be raising its fees for mortgage and financial companies to authenticate borrower Social Security numbers from $0.56 to $5.00 per verification. This price increase could significantly impair the industry's move to protect itself against identity-based mortgage fraud. According to a letter sent to Michael Astrue, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration by Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-Texas), this fee increase could lead to the de facto cancellation of the CBSV (Consumer-Based Social Security Number Verification) program, as it could significantly lead to fewer and fewer lenders using the program. According to that same letter, the decision to increase fees for the CBSV program was made by the Social Security Administration without collaboration with the U.S. Congress. Mr. Astrue denied Congresswoman Granger's initial request for a 60-day delay to evaluate the necessity of this fee increase. Full release.