While it is common knowledge that fraudsters stealing money is a bad thing, what is not as well known is that fraud also reduces access to benefits. During the pandemic, this reality was apparent as government agencies that were unable to tell legitimate claims apart from fraudulent ones had to slow service delivery. In some cases, workforce agencies suspended operations for a period of time until they could tell real users apart from fraudulent ones.
ID.me’s CEO, Blake Hall, wrote an article for Forbes that explains the link between fraud and reduced access as well as the countermeasures necessary to address the problem.
