US Treasury used AI to recover $4 billion in fraud over past year

The United States Department of Treasury said it used artificial intelligence to sift through data and recover $4 billion in “fraud and improper payments” in the 2024 fiscal year.

The Treasury said on Oct. 17, that its uptake of AI saw it recover nearly four times as much compared to the previous fiscal year, where it recovered $652.7 million in fraud.

The Treasury started quietly using machine learning AI in late 2022 — a type of technology that specializes in analyzing vast amounts of data, and making decisions and predictions based on what it has learned.

“It’s really been transformative,” said Treasury official Renata Miskell, who told CNN that “leveraging data has upped our game in fraud detection and prevention.” 

“Fraudsters are really good at hiding. They’re trying to secretly game the system. AI and leveraging data helps us find those hidden patterns and anomalies and work to prevent them.”

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said that the agency “takes seriously our responsibility to serve as effective stewards of taxpayer money.”

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Juniper Research reported that online payment fraud is expected to cumulatively surpass $362 billion by 2028.

The Treasury currently handles around 1.4 billion payments annually with a total value of $6.9 trillion. In May, the Treasury said that it would expand the use of AI to enhance government regulatory and enforcement efforts against financial crimes. 

It is not the only US department turning to AI. In September 2023, the Internal Revenue Service said that had deployed AI to detect tax cheats by examining large and complex returns from hedge funds and law firms.

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