The US Treasury Department has announced the successful rollout of a new anti-fraud system designed to stop federal payments being sent to deceased individuals, part of a wider effort to cut waste and improper spending. Officials say the safeguard has already identified and blocked around $99 million in payments that had been earmarked for people who had died, a move they are presenting as a significant win in tightening controls over taxpayer-funded programmes.

The verification process works by screening federal payments against expanded death records, allowing officials to cross-check recipients before money is disbursed. According to Treasury, the system has so far audited nearly $2.7 trillion across 885 million payments, with Vice President JD Vance highlighting the initiative as part of broader efforts to eliminate fraud and protect programmes such as Social Security for their intended beneficiaries.