Haywood Talcove, CEO, Government, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and LexisNexis Special Services, wrote in an opinion piece for Fedscoop published Friday that the federal government should collaborate with industry to protect stimulus funds from fraudsters as it works to provide economic relief to U.S. businesses and families during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the $2T Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Talcove, a 2020 Wash100 award winner, discussed how fraudsters could target approximately $937B worth of relief funds under the CARES Act using antiquated systems and out-of-date data.
“By using old data and systems, millions of individuals who are entitled to stimulus checks will be overlooked, leaving their stimulus payments open to fraudsters,” he wrote. “The government is hiring programmers as fast as possible, but without the advanced identity authentication tools used in the private sector, the COVID-19 pirates will raid with impunity.”
Talcove noted that the General Services Administration’s Login.Gov portal is an example of a public-private partnership that leveraged the industry’s advanced security tools to provide the public with a secure online access to government initiatives.
