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Is godirect.gov a Scam? Security Check Results - U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service Reviews

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Is godirect.gov Safe? Security Analysis for U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Check if godirect.gov is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

GovernmentUnited Statesenterprise
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuery 3.6.4Google Tag Manager+4 more
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 2:27:32 PM
51
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

The Go Direct® website is an official U.S. Department of the Treasury portal designed to facilitate the enrollment of federal benefit recipients into electronic payment systems such as direct deposit and the Direct Express® Debit Mastercard®. It serves a critical government function by providing secure, accessible, and user-friendly services to a broad audience of federal benefit recipients. The site is well-positioned as a trusted government resource with clear branding and consistent messaging aligned with its mission. Technically, the website employs modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery, and the U.S. Web Design System, ensuring accessibility and mobile responsiveness. Integration with Google Tag Manager, Google Custom Search, and Facebook Pixel indicates a moderate level of analytics and user tracking, balanced with privacy considerations. The site demonstrates good performance and SEO practices, with appropriate meta tags and structured navigation. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS, includes important security headers such as X-Frame-Options, and incorporates user session management features like inactivity timeouts. However, it lacks a visible cookie consent mechanism and published security or incident response policies, which are areas for improvement. No vulnerabilities or suspicious activities were detected, and the domain registration aligns with the official government entity, reinforcing legitimacy. Overall, the Go Direct® website presents a secure, professional, and trustworthy platform for federal payment enrollment, with minor gaps in privacy compliance and security transparency that can be addressed to enhance user trust and regulatory adherence.

Detected Technologies

HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuery 3.6.4Google Tag ManagerGoogle Custom Search EngineUS Web Design System (USWDS)BootstrapModernizr

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Go Direct® operates as a government service under the U.S. Department of the Treasury, focusing on electronic payment enrollment for federal benefit recipients. Its market position is strong as an official .gov portal, providing essential services that streamline federal payments. The business model is service-oriented, funded and operated by the government, targeting individuals receiving federal benefits. Revenue streams are not applicable as it is a government service. The partnership ecosystem includes key federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration, FDIC, Veterans Affairs, and financial institutions offering Direct Express® cards. Growth indicators include the upcoming federal mandate to cease paper checks by 2025, driving increased enrollment demand. Strategic observations highlight the importance of maintaining high security and privacy standards to protect sensitive beneficiary data and ensure compliance with federal regulations.

Extracted Contact Information

Marketing Intelligence Data

Phone Numbers (7)

187*******
800*******
888*******
855*******
877*******
+2 more numbers found

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, proper security headers, and user session management controls. The presence of a security notice and acknowledgement prior to enrollment indicates awareness of legal and security responsibilities. However, the absence of a published security policy, incident response contact information, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms suggests room for improvement in transparency and incident readiness. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected, and the site follows best practices for secure form handling. Compliance with privacy regulations is partial, lacking explicit cookie consent and detailed GDPR-related disclosures. Overall, the security posture is strong but could benefit from enhanced policy publication and user privacy controls.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Implement a visible cookie consent banner to comply with privacy regulations and enhance user trust.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service

Description:

U.S. Treasury direct deposit for Federal benefit checks. Direct Express. Electronic Payment.

Key Services:
Direct deposit enrollmentDirect Express® Debit Mastercard® enrollmentInformation and resources for federal benefit payments
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptjQuery 3.6.4Google Tag ManagerGoogle Custom Search EngineUS Web Design System (USWDS)BootstrapModernizr
Frameworks:
US Web Design SystemFoundation (conditional for IE)Bootstrap
Performance:

moderate

Mobile:

good

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
90/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • X-Frame-Options header to prevent clickjacking
  • No visible exposed sensitive data
  • Security notice and acknowledgement before enrollment
  • Session inactivity timeout modal

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager)Digital Analytics Program (DAP) by digitalgov.gov
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:basic

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
Facebook Pixel
Marketing Tools:
Google Custom Search Engine
Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:excellent
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Official U.S. government website with .gov domain

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

0/100
Score
Analysis failed - content could not be retrieved

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

53/100
Score

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

No Data Protection Officer mentioned

LOW

Large organizations may need to designate a DPO under GDPR

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy0% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

17/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

70/100
Score

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:199.169.200.4 ip4:199.169.204.4 ip4:199.169.240.69 ip4:199.169.208.69 ~all
DNS Lookups:1/10
Policy:~all
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:dmarcgov@frb.org

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

0/100
Score

Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

CRITICAL

Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

85/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

DNS Records

A Records:2.21.239.16, 2.21.239.30
AAAA Records:2a02:26f0:41::215:f0a5, 2a02:26f0:41::215:f0ac
Name Servers:
pdns108.ultradns.bizDNS only
pdns108.ultradns.comDNS only
pdns108.ultradns.netDNS only
pdns108.ultradns.orgDNS only
MX Records:
10: mx1.frb.iphmx.com
10: mx2.frb.iphmx.com
SOA:Serial: 2009036137, TTL: 3600s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:115ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 mx ip4:199.169.200.4 ip4:199.169.204.4 ip4:199.169.240.69 ip4:199.169.208.69 ~all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website is built using a modern and robust technology stack including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, jQuery 3.6.4, and the U.S. Web Design System, ensuring accessibility and responsiveness. It integrates Google Tag Manager and Google Custom Search for analytics and search functionality, and uses Facebook Pixel for tracking. The site supports multiple browsers with conditional scripts for legacy Internet Explorer versions. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts and optimized images. Accessibility features such as skip navigation links and ARIA labels are implemented. There is no detected CMS, suggesting a custom or government-managed platform. Hosting provider details are not explicit but likely government infrastructure. Technical risks are minimal, with no outdated or vulnerable libraries detected. Opportunities exist to improve privacy compliance and security transparency.
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