CBS News reports that the U.S. government is facing a staggering fraud crisis, with experts like Linda Miller warning that criminals, often transnational crime rings and foreign state actors, are exploiting public assistance programs using stolen American identities.
What we're really talking about is nation-state actors, said Miller, estimating losses as high as $1 trillion annually.
Fraud surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as relief programs shifted online with limited safeguards. The FBI uncovered one ring alone that stole $6 billion in unemployment funds, while groups like Chinas APT41 used sophisticated tactics to defraud multiple states. Bryan Vorndran of the FBI likened these actors to digital gangs of the 21st century, saying the U.S. is outnumbered. Victims like wildfire survivors Rich and Deann Wilken now struggle to access aid due to identity theft. While the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency pledges to tackle fraud, experts worry its focus is skewed toward political optics rather than real criminal deception.
What we're really talking about is nation-state actors, said Miller, estimating losses as high as $1 trillion annually.
Fraud surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as relief programs shifted online with limited safeguards. The FBI uncovered one ring alone that stole $6 billion in unemployment funds, while groups like Chinas APT41 used sophisticated tactics to defraud multiple states. Bryan Vorndran of the FBI likened these actors to digital gangs of the 21st century, saying the U.S. is outnumbered. Victims like wildfire survivors Rich and Deann Wilken now struggle to access aid due to identity theft. While the Trump-backed Department of Government Efficiency pledges to tackle fraud, experts worry its focus is skewed toward political optics rather than real criminal deception.
