Sure, generating goofy pictures is fun, but AI clearly has more important use cases, with the US government announcing that it prevented and recovered $4 billion in fraud thanks to the technology.
AI has been on a tear that last few years. From the invention of ChatGPT to the roll-out of generative AI to virtually every piece of business software in the world, you can’t throw a rock without hitting something that is “powered by AI.”
Fortunately, the technology is being used for something useful, as the US government is reportedly putting a stop to fraud in a major way with AI at the helm.
US Government Uses AI Against Fraud
According to an announcement from the US Treasury Department, the agency has substantially cracked down on fraud over the last year, preventing and recovering more than $4 billion in fraud in 2024. The Treasury Department pointed out that this is a huge improvement year-on-year, after only preventing and recovering $652.7 million in 2023.
So, why the big improvement? Well, it turns out that the Treasury Department is using machine learning and artificial intelligence to bolster its defense in the face of fraudsters. And clearly, it’s working out.
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“It’s really been transformative. Leveraging data has upped our game in fraud detection and prevention.” – Renata Miskell, US Department of Treasury official, to CNN
The US Treasury Department has used the technology for a wide range of fraud, with impressive results across the board. For example, the agency has specifically recovered $1 billion from check fraud alone in 2024, which is more than triple the amount recovered in 2023.
How Is the Treasury Department Using AI to Combat Fraud?
Now, to be clear, the US Treasury Department isn’t using generative AI technology — like ChatGPT and Google Gemini — to assist in its fraud detection. Instead, the agency is using simple machine learning to analyze the massive collection of data available, so that it can spot basic trends that are consistent with fraud.
“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.” – Renata Miskell, US Department of Treasury official
Considering the US Treasury Department manages approximately 1.4 billion transactions to the tune of about $1.7 trillion for American citizens, it’s understandable that they might need a bit of help from AI to track and understand all that data.
Staying Safe Online
Fraud isn’t the only nefarious activity that is on the rise amidst the evolution of artificial intelligence. Hacking and breaches have also become all too common online, and keeping yourself safe is a full-time job.
The best tip is to always be vigilant. Most dangerous behavior, like online scams, can be spotted if you’ve got a keen eye. Granted, AI has made these scams harder to spot, but you’ll still find odd language, spelling errors, and other issues when a scammer is on the other line.
You can also check out some of our helpful scam guides that outline some of the more common instances of problematic behavior online, like Cash App and Taylor Swift scams, so you can always know what’s out there.
