The Government is using AI to crack down on fraud, preventing fraudsters from stealing £480 million it its biggest ever crackdown.
More than a third of the money saved (£186 million) comes from identifying and recovering fraud committed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Government said efforts to date have blocked hundreds of thousands of companies with outstanding or potentially fraudulent Bounce Back Loans from dissolving before they would have to pay anything back. It also claims to have clawed back millions of pounds from companies that took out Covid loans they were not entitled to, or took out multiple loans when only entitled to one.
Alongside Covid fraud, the savings reached in the year to April 2025 include clamping down on people unlawfully claiming single persons council tax discount and removing people from social housing waitlists who wanted to illegally sublet their homes.
“We’re using cutting-edge AI and data tools to stay one step ahead of fraudsters, making sure public funds are protected and used to deliver public services for those who need them most – not line the pockets of scammers and swindlers,” said Cabinet Office Minister Josh Simons, in a statement.
The Minister is set to unveil a new AI fraud prevention tool that has been built by the government and will be used across all departments after successful tests.
The AI system scans new policies and procedures for weaknesses before they can be exploited. Results from early tests show it could save “thousands of hours and help prevent millions in potential losses, slashing the time to identify fraud risks by 80 percent while preserving human oversight.”
The UK will also licence the technology internationally, according to the statement.
