U.S. Treasury Intercepts $175 Million in Fraudulent Payments
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AI-assisted source synthesis · not an independent investigation.
On October 7, 2026, the U.S. Treasury said that a new payment verification process launched in fiscal year 2026 had screened more than 1.1 billion federal payments totaling about $3.7 trillion, and intercepted and returned 13,500 payments that would otherwise have gone to deceased individuals. On October 8, Payments Dive reported that the Treasury had added 9 datasets for identity verification and payment screening, expanding data access coverage from 4% in the previous fiscal year to most federal programs, and said the 13,500 payments totaled $175 million and were fraudulent payments. On the same day, PYMNTS reported that the effort reflected a shift in anti-fraud priorities toward verifying recipients’ identities, account ownership, and payment eligibility before payments are executed. On October 13, PYMNTS again reported that in fiscal year 2026 more than 1.1 billion payments worth about $3.7 trillion had been screened, and about 13,500 payments that would otherwise have gone to deceased individuals had been returned.
AI-written from reports · updated 8 days ago
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- PYMNTSTreasury screened 1.1 billion federal payments in fiscal year 2026 and returned approximately 13,500 payments involving deceased individuals
Treasury screened more than 1.1 billion federal payments worth approximately $3.7 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and returned approximately 13,500 payments that would otherwise have been paid to deceased individuals.
- PYMNTSWhat anti-fraud lessons can the U.S. Treasury and SEC offer CFOs
The latest actions by the U.S. Treasury and SEC show that the focus of CFOs’ fraud prevention is shifting from after-the-fact detection to verifying the payee’s identity, account ownership, and payment eligibility before payment execution.
- Payments DiveU.S. Treasury expands data use to curb government payment fraud
The U.S. Treasury is helping protect about $3.7 trillion in government payments by expanding data sources and strengthening pre-payment screening. In fiscal year 2026, the Treasury added nine datasets for identity verification and payment screening, expanding data access coverage from 4% in the previous fiscal year to most federal programs, and intercepted 13,500 fraudulent payments totaling $175 million.
- PYMNTSU.S. Treasury's payment verification process blocked $175 million in federal payments to deceased individuals
The U.S. Treasury said the new payment verification process launched in fiscal year 2026 screened more than 1.1 billion federal payments totaling $3.7 trillion, and intercepted and returned 13,500 payments that would otherwise have been sent to deceased individuals.
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