The Social Security Administration has a fund called the Earnings Suspense File. It was set up as a place for Social Security earnings reports from people with mismatched SS numbers and names.

The agents in this department are suppose to track down the person or employer and straighten out the problem. Examples would be someone who got married and didn't register their names, misspelled names or someone using a false identity or beneficiares who die etc.

This fund accrues money at a rate of approximately $6 billion a year according to the Congressional Budget Office. In 2004, the ESF reported 250 million records.

The surge in the fund came after the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. This law requires employers demand identification before hiring workers. This caused an increase in illegals obtaining fake SS cards.

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