US Treasury’s AI tools recover $1 billion in fraudulent payments

[Craig Nigrelli]

IN AN EFFORT TO CRACK DOWN ON FRAUD, THE U-S TREASURY DEPARTMENT IS USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO DETECT FRAUDULENT TRANSACTIONS MORE EFFECTIVELY. AND THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN IMPRESSIVE.

THE TREASURY’S OFFICE OF PAYMENT INTEGRITY PREVENTED AND RECOVERED OVER 4 BILLION DOLLARS FROM FRAUDULENT PAYMENTS THIS YEAR. 1 BILLION DOLLARS OF THAT BOUNTY IS CREDITED TO A NEW A-I BASED SYSTEM INTRODUCED AT THE START OF FISCAL YEAR 2023. 

LAST YEAR, A LITTLE OVER 650-MILLION WAS RECOVERED BY THE DEPARTMENT, SHOWCASING A SIX-FOLD INCREASE IN EFFICIENCY.

OFFICIALS SAY SURGES IN FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY SINCE THE PANDEMIC PROMPTED THE DEPARTMENT TO USE A-I TO IDENTIFY SUSPICIOUS TRANSACTIONS IN NEAR REAL-TIME. IN MANY CASES, A-I TOOLS ARE ALSO BEING USED TO CONDUCT THE FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY IN THE FIRST PLACE. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, THESE EFFORTS HAVE ALREADY LED TO MULTIPLE ARRESTS AND ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS.

IN ADDITION TO FINDING PATTERNS IN FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY, THE TOOLS WERE ALSO USED TO FOR MORE EFFICIENT PAYMENT SCHEDULING… RESULTING IN AN ADDITIONAL RECOVERY OF 180-MILLION DOLLARS. THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY EMPHASIZED THE TOOLS’ ROLE IN SAFEGUARDING TAXPAYER MONEY AND PREVENTING IMPROPER PAYMENTS.

OFFICIALS SAY THEY’LL CONTINUE USING THESE TOOLS TO RECOVER EVEN MORE TAXPAYER DOLLARS AND CRACK DOWN ON FRAUDSTERS. ONLINE PAYMENT FRAUD IS PROJECTED TO SURPASS 362 BILLION CUMULATIVELY BY 2028.

FOR MORE UNBIASED UPDATES AND STRAIGHT FACTS… DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M CRAIG NIGRELLI.