Federal Financial Agencies Expand Data Sharing to Prevent Fraud

Federal financial agencies are strengthening fraud prevention as artificial intelligence and other technologies make it easier for bad actors to create convincing identities, forge documents and impersonate government officials. The reported examples span several mission areas: the Export-Import Bank of the United States’ watchdog warned about individuals posing as Office of Inspector General agents; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has encountered obituary photos used in attempts to access accounts; and the Treasury Department is confronting an environment where it is easier to “spin up fake identities.” Agency officials described fraud as increasingly sophisticated and said prevention is moving to the forefront of government efforts.

The central operational theme is collaboration, particularly the ability to share usable data across agencies without duplicating work or compromising appropriate handling. At a panel hosted by ATARC and GovExec’s Fraud, Waste, & Abuse Forum, EXIM Bank Assistant Inspector General for Audits Eric Rivera said, “I think collaboration is increasing,” adding that prevention has become a more prominent part of the conversation. Rivera said EXIM’s Office of Inspector General focuses on working with investigators and establishing controls “on the front end.” For contractors, that emphasis points to potential requirements for systems that help agencies identify suspicious activity earlier, establish controls and coordinate information across organizational boundaries.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s experience illustrates the practical need for identity and document verification. Hussain Jabalpurwala, who previously served as chief of the Department of Homeland Security’s biometrics and identity branch, described forged identities and documents, including material featuring images of deceased people, in efforts to recover money held in failed banks. He stressed that data must be portable enough to support sharing agreements, while agency leaders should prevent redundant efforts and ensure shared information is used appropriately. As he put it, “Once [the data is] shared, [agency leaders need to make sure] it’s used in the right way.” He also called for alerts and dashboards that give both leadership and frontline personnel visibility into where activity is occurring and where attention is needed.

Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service and the Social Security Administration provide a concrete example of this collaboration model. When SSA monitors an account where bank information changes, it can send an API call to Treasury; Treasury can then advise whether the bank information appears legitimate. The article also reports broader use of Treasury’s Do Not Pay system, with participation reaching 99% of government programs at publication. These developments are procurement-relevant indicators, not an announced acquisition: no solicitation, contract vehicle, award, deadline or funding amount is identified. Vendors can use the signal to inform agency engagement and capability planning, particularly around fraud analytics, identity and document verification, interoperable APIs, dashboards, privacy-aware data sharing and controls aligned with the Privacy Act.

• Fraud prevention is the stated priority: EXIM Bank’s Eric Rivera said prevention is increasingly at the forefront and described front-end controls as part of the OIG’s work with investigators.
• Threat methods include impersonation and synthetic identities: EXIM Bank’s watchdog warned about people impersonating OIG agents, while Treasury faces easier creation of fake identities.
• FDIC has encountered forged identity and document attempts: The reported examples include obituary photos used in efforts to gain access to accounts during recovery activity involving failed banks.
• Interagency data sharing is a key operational requirement: Treasury’s Justin Marsico characterized data-sharing agreements as “the most meaningful form of collaboration” agencies can have.
• SSA–Treasury coordination uses an API call: When SSA monitors an account with changed bank information, it can ask Treasury to assess whether the bank information appears legitimate.
• Do Not Pay participation had reached 99% of government programs at the time of publication, indicating broad adoption of a shared government fraud-prevention resource.
• Data portability, appropriate use and avoiding duplication matter: Jabalpurwala emphasized that shared data needs to be portable, governed responsibly and useful to both leadership and frontline staff.
• Potential contractor capabilities include fraud analytics, identity and document verification, interoperable APIs, alerts and dashboards that help agencies detect suspicious activity and coordinate responses.
• Privacy and compliance should be built into proposed solutions: Contractors should account for appropriate data use and Privacy Act-compliant processes when supporting interagency sharing.
• No active procurement is identified: Treat this as a market and agency-priorities signal for capability development and engagement, not as a current bid opportunity.