Up to $400 Billion in COVID Unemployment Benefits Stolen
Roughly $800 billion in unemployment benefits were disbursed in the US as a result of the pandemic. Of that $800 billion, an estimated $400 billion, or half, has been stolen by fraudsters. Experts say the beneficiaries of the fraud were US domestic cyber criminals and crime syndicates operating out of China, Russian and other countries.
Criminals have gained access to the unemployment system by way of PII and identity theft. They either impersonate a claimant or create a synthetic identity under which they file claims. And they’ve done so to the tune of hundreds-of-billions.
The massive amount of funds stolen has come surprisingly easy for these criminals. US federal and State unemployment computer systems, especially those that monitor for fraud, are antiquated. Some systems have not been updated since the 1980’s.
While unemployment insurance had become a primary method on which the federal government relied to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic, the outdated anti-fraud systems have left taxpayers on the hook for half the funds. $400 billion has vanished.
It’s quite astonishing to think that Federal and State computer programs, software and systems are so outdated (by decades in some instances) that perhaps up to a trillion in fraud losses have occurred over the years.
This is especially astonishing when proven anti-fraud systems are easily available to them. Artificial intelligence tools, like those from ToolCASE could have potentially prevented these massive losses, saving us, the taxpayer, billions upon billions of dollars.
The real-time Ai solutions from ToolCASE have proven to stop fraudulent transactions before funds are transferred. What could the US do with an extra $400 billion?
It’s time to hold our local and federal governments accountable for their negligence and demand they utilize advanced Ai tools like those at ToolCASE.
Read more about ToolCASE HERE
Or continue the story on the $400 billion in stolen unemployment funds, HERE
Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/unemployment-benefits-stolen-coronavirus-pandemic
