New Report Warns: The Federal Government’s Fraud Crisis Is About to Get Worse

Socure and GovNavigators release “The Next Five Years of Fraud: We Better Get Ready Now,” drawing on insights from more than 40 senior federal practitioners

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 31, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Socure,the leading infrastructure for global identity and risk intelligence, today released The Next Five Years of Fraud: We Better Get Ready Now, a new report produced in partnership with GovNavigators. Drawing on a convening of more than 40 senior federal practitioners from across the legislative and executive branches, the report delivers a clear-eyed assessment of where government fraud is headed and what agencies must do now to stay ahead of it.

A Rapidly Escalating Fraud Threat

The federal government already loses an estimated $233 billion to $521 billion to fraud annually, according to the Government Accountability Office. The report warns that trajectory is worsening. Advances in artificial intelligence and automation have radically lowered the barriers to fraud at scale. In one case analyzed by Socure, a fraud ring used AI to develop 24,148 synthetic identities and launched 35,894 application attacks - all within 30 days, many within 48 hours of identity creation.

“Coming out of government, and knowing what is happening with identity and fraud, I want to make sure that we're helping to raise collective understanding of what is actually emerging out there. The knowledge and capabilities the commercial world has but hasn't necessarily shared with government — we feel it is our duty and responsibility to help elevate that conversation."
Jordan Burris, Head of Public Sector, Socure

Prevention Works - and the Evidence Is In

The report also documents meaningful progress. Fraud prevention is no longer theoretical - it is operational, defensible, and compatible with fast, efficient service delivery. Among the results cited:

• Treasury’s AI-assisted check fraud detection prevented and recovered more than $1.9 billion in FY2024-FY2025.
• The PARIS Interstate Duplicate Benefits System identified approximately $1.3 billion in improper payments in FY2025.
• Treasury’s Do Not Pay pilot using the SSA Death Master File produced a return on investment of roughly 23x its cost, preventing and recovering $113.5 million.

“If one reads the room, there is broad agreement on several points: that post-payment recovery alone is insufficient; that earlier intervention works; and that incentives matter. The opportunity now is to embed these lessons in durable policy so they persist beyond individual programs or crises."
Robert Shea, Former Government Leader & CEO, GovNavigators

Five Actions to Scale What Works

Fraud prevention cannot be stagnant; it must be continuous to counter the velocity and volume of fraud facing agencies today. With a new administration prioritizing government efficiency and a renewed focus on eliminating fraud and improper payments, the report argues this is the right moment to institutionalize what works — before the next wave of AI-enabled fraud makes the problem exponentially harder. In order to help achieve that, the report outlines five priority recommendations:

1. Move Prevention Earlier. Embed fraud screening at the earliest point in the payment lifecycle.
2. Make Authorities Permanent. Permanently authorize responsible real-time data sharing for fraud prevention.
3. Align Incentives. Reward agencies for fraud they prevent, not only fraud they recover.
4. Support Interoperability. Modernize federated grant systems to close cross-program visibility gaps.
5. Treat Identity (and Fraud) as Dynamic. Apply identity verification as a continuous, risk-based control to meet the need of an evolving fraud environment.

Read the full report.

About Socure

Socure is the leading platform for digital identity verification, compliance, and fraud prevention solutions, trusted by the largest enterprises and government agencies to build trust and mitigate risk. Leveraging AI and machine learning, Socure’s industry-leading platform achieves the highest accuracy, automation, and capture rates in the industry.

Serving more than 3,000 customers and 190+ countries across financial services, government, gaming, healthcare, telecom, and e-commerce, Socure’s customer base includes 18 of the top 20 banks, four of the Mag 7, the largest HR payroll and workforce providers, the largest sportsbook and prediction market operators, 130 organizations across the public sector, and more than 600 fintechs.

Leading organizations trust Socure to deliver certainty in identity across onboarding, authentication, payments, account changes, and regulatory compliance. Learn more at www.socure.com.

About GovNavigators

GovNavigators is a full-service consulting firm helping private sector organizations understand, engage, and succeed in the public sector market. Built by practitioners with decades of government experience, the firm combines policy strategy, advocacy, communications, and business development under one roof.

We help clients navigate the legislative and regulatory landscape, craft messages that resonate with government decision makers, and build the relationships and visibility needed to win government business. Learn more at www.govnavigators.com.

Adam Hughes
GovNavigators LLC
+1 202-320-3254
email us here

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