Federal agencies are under growing pressure to deliver services faster, expand digital access, improve constituent experiences and protect taxpayer dollars. Across benefits programs, immigration services, healthcare, tax administration and other public-sector programs, the mission is increasingly digital, distributed and high volume.
While that creates enormous opportunities for government modernization, it also creates new opportunities for fraud.
For years, federal fraud prevention strategies have often focused on eligibility rules, documentation, payment controls, back-end analytics and post-payment recovery. Those tools remain essential. But as more services move online and fraud tactics become more sophisticated, one question is becoming increasingly central to program integrity:
Is this person who they claim to be?
That question now sits at the heart of many of the federal government’s most pressing fraud challenges. Whether an agency is processing a benefits claim, issuing a visa, supporting a tax credit, managing healthcare access or enabling a citizen to interact with a digital portal, identity is often the first layer of trust.
If that layer fails, every step that follows becomes more vulnerable.
Fraud is No Longer Just a Payment Problem
The scale of the federal payment integrity challenge is significant. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, 15 federal agencies reported approximately $186 billion in estimated improper payments across 64 programs in fiscal year 2025, an increase of $24 billion from the previous fiscal year. GAO also notes that improper payments and fraud are related but not the same; improper payments include payments made in the wrong amount, to the wrong recipient or without proper documentation, and not every improper payment is the result of fraud.
That distinction matters. Federal leaders should be careful not to conflate every payment error with malicious activity.
But it is equally important to recognize that identity-related fraud can contribute to the broader integrity challenge. When a bad actor can impersonate a legitimate applicant, create a synthetic identity, use stolen personal information or exploit weak account recovery processes, they can gain access to systems that were designed to serve real people.
In that sense, identity assurance is not a narrow technical issue. It is a program integrity issue, a public trust issue and, in many cases, a national security issue.
Identity Fraud Cuts Across Federal Missions
Identity-related fraud does not sit neatly within one agency, program or transaction type. It can appear anywhere the government must determine whether an individual is legitimate, eligible and authorized to receive a service or benefit.
In benefits programs, identity fraud can occur when stolen or fabricated personal information is used to apply for assistance, redirect payments, access accounts or file duplicate claims. In immigration and visa processes, agencies must confirm that the person applying, interviewing, entering or receiving a benefit is the same person associated with the identity record. In healthcare and entitlement programs, identity fraud can expose systems to improper billing, unauthorized access or misuse of beneficiary information. In tax administration, fraudsters may attempt to use stolen identities to claim refunds, credits or benefits.
The common thread is not simply the payment, the document or the database. It is the person behind the interaction.
That is why federal fraud prevention increasingly needs to begin earlier in the process. Agencies cannot rely solely on detecting suspicious activity after an application has been submitted, a claim has been approved or funds have been distributed. They need stronger ways to establish trust at enrollment, verify identity during high-risk interactions and ensure that one person is not using multiple identities to exploit fragmented systems.
Documentation Alone is No Longer Enough
Traditional identity checks often rely on documents, biographic data, passwords, PINs or knowledge-based questions. These methods can still play a role, but they are under increasing strain.
Documents can be forged, altered or paired with stolen data. Passwords and shared secrets can be compromised. Personal information that once seemed private is now widely exposed through data breaches, phishing schemes and underground marketplaces. Generative AI is also making it easier for fraudsters to create convincing synthetic personas, manipulated images and deepfake content that can challenge legacy verification processes.
This is especially difficult for federal agencies because the stakes are high. Agencies must prevent fraud without creating unnecessary barriers for legitimate users. They must protect taxpayer funds while ensuring that eligible citizens, residents, travelers, workers and beneficiaries can access the services they need.
That balance is difficult to achieve with static identity controls alone.
Biometrics Add a Stronger Link Between Person and Identity
Biometrics can help strengthen identity assurance by connecting a person to a verified identity in a way that is more difficult to steal, share or fabricate than passwords or biographic data alone.
Used responsibly, biometric technologies such as face, fingerprint or iris recognition can help agencies answer several critical questions:
- Is the applicant a real, live person?
- Is this person the same individual associated with the identity record?
- Has this person already enrolled under another identity?
- Is this person present during a high-risk transaction, account recovery or re-verification event?
This is where biometrics can play a meaningful role in federal fraud prevention. They can help agencies reduce reliance on easily compromised information, detect duplicate or fraudulent enrollments and prevent imposters from gaining access to trusted systems.
For example, in benefits programs, biometrics can support secure digital enrollment, prevent duplicate identities and enable step-up verification when an applicant changes payment information or attempts account recovery. In visa and immigration workflows, biometrics can help maintain continuity of identity across application, adjudication, travel and benefit issuance. In healthcare or entitlement programs, biometrics can help protect access to sensitive systems and reduce the risk of unauthorized use.
The value is not simply that biometrics are more advanced than older controls. It is that they help agencies verify the human being at the center of the transaction.
Liveness Detection is Becoming Essential
As fraudsters become more sophisticated, biometric matching alone is not enough. Agencies also need confidence that the biometric being presented comes from a real, live person — not a photo, video replay, mask, injection attack or AI-generated deepfake.
That is why liveness detection, particularly passive liveness detection, has become an increasingly important part of modern identity assurance.
For federal agencies expanding digital services, liveness detection can help protect remote workflows where a person may not be physically present in an office, consulate, enrollment center or agency facility. It can add a layer of defense during remote onboarding, digital benefits applications, visa-related interactions, account recovery and other high-risk moments.
This matters because the future of government service delivery will not be entirely in person or entirely digital – it will be hybrid. Agencies will need identity systems that can preserve trust across both environments.
The Need for Adaptive, Risk-Based Identity Assurance
Not every government interaction requires the same level of identity assurance. Checking the status of an application is different from enrolling in a benefits program. Updating a mailing address is different from changing direct deposit information. Submitting a low-risk request is different from accessing a sensitive service, applying for a visa or initiating a high-value payment.
That is why federal agencies need identity strategies that are adaptive and risk-based.
Biometrics should not be treated as a one-size-fits-all requirement for every interaction. Instead, agencies can apply stronger verification at moments that matter most: initial enrollment, high-risk transactions, account recovery, re-enrollment, duplicate detection, remote adjudication or situations where fraud signals indicate elevated risk.
This approach helps agencies strengthen fraud prevention while minimizing unnecessary friction for legitimate users. It also helps support accessibility, privacy and user experience goals by reserving more intensive checks for moments when they are justified by risk.
Orchestration Will Matter as Identity Ecosystems Grow
Many federal agencies already use a mix of identity tools, databases, biometric modalities, document verification systems, fraud analytics and case management processes. The challenge is that these capabilities are often fragmented across programs, vendors and workflows.
As fraud tactics evolve, agencies need the flexibility to adapt. They will need to use different biometric modalities for different populations or environments. They will need to update liveness capabilities as new attack types emerge. They will need to apply different assurance levels across benefits, immigration, workforce, healthcare or citizen-service use cases.
This is where biometric orchestration becomes essential.
For government CIOs, biometric orchestration can also serve as a common services layer for identity assurance across agencies, programs and digital services. Rather than forcing each program to build, integrate and govern its own biometric workflows independently, orchestration creates reusable identity capabilities that can be applied consistently across multiple mission areas. This helps improve visibility, strengthen controls, reduce duplicative integrations and support compliance requirements as identity ecosystems become more complex.
Rather than locking agencies into a single tool or workflow, orchestration can help connect multiple biometric technologies, apply consistent policies, route users based on risk, centralize visibility and support stronger auditability and compliance. It also enables agencies to modernize without replacing every legacy system at once.
For federal leaders, the goal should not be simply to add another identity tool. The goal should be to build a more resilient identity assurance framework that can evolve as mission needs and fraud tactics change without an expensive and time-consuming rip and replace experience each time.
Trust is the Real Mission
Identity-related fraud is not only a financial problem. It also affects trust in the government.
When fraudulent claims are paid, legitimate beneficiaries may face delays, added scrutiny or reduced confidence in the systems designed to support them. When fraud controls are too weak, public resources are exposed. When controls are too burdensome, eligible individuals may struggle to access the services they need.
The right identity strategy can help agencies balance these priorities.
Biometrics, liveness detection and orchestration are not replacements for eligibility rules, data sharing, analytics, oversight or human review. They are part of a stronger foundation for determining whether the person interacting with a federal system is legitimate, present and tied to a trusted identity.
As federal agencies continue to modernize, fraud prevention must start with a clear understanding of identity. Because before an agency can determine whether someone is eligible, authorized or entitled to receive a service, it must first answer the most fundamental question:
Is this person who they claim to be?
