Treasurer Loftis announces fraud detection & prevention symposium

(Columbia, SC) – As South Carolinians learned the hard way recently, computer hackers and criminals are getting more brazen and effective in their attempts to steal information and public assets from government agencies. Before the recent breach at the South Carolina Department of Revenue, Treasurer Curtis Loftis was working to bring state and industry experts together to discuss fraud detection and prevention in government programs.

A recent report by the Federal Emergency Management Agency reveals federal agencies have reported a 650 percent increase in cyber-attacks over the last five years, with nearly two thirds of American companies citing at least once incident. Fraud and improper payments as it relates to government programs have also been on the rise nationally.

“Each night the Treasurer’s Office invests millions of dollars so detecting and preventing fraud is priority number one in safeguarding South Carolina’s assets,” Treasurer Loftis said. “When I first came into office, I ordered an officewide Information Technology security audit because we wanted to make certain that my administration was doing everything within its power to protect the public assets placed in our trust. The criminals only need to be right once in order to create havoc as we’ve recently seen. It is vital to bring local and state agencies together along with industry experts to examine security practices with the goal of making all levels of South Carolina government more secure.”

WHAT: Fraud Detection and Prevention in Government Programs Symposium

WHEN: November 13th 8:30a.m. - 11:30a.m.

WHERE: Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, The “Lexington” Room

At this Fraud Detection and Prevention in Government Programs Symposium, attendees will learn how modern technology can be used to detect sophisticated fraud schemes and organized criminal enterprises – before substantial losses are incurred and learn best practices from both government and the private sector in the latest methods for detecting and preventing fraud, including: current trends in fraud schemes and perpetrators, why an enterprise approach to fraud detection and prevention is critical to deterring today’s fraud, how advanced analytics can help reduce government fraud, how to incorporate continuous monitoring into the heart of government systems to prevent fraud, what the newly opened South Carolina Office of Inspector General can do to assist agencies and much more.

Speakers to include:

• Curtis M. Loftis, Jr.: South Carolina State Treasurer
• Chris Swecker: Former senior FBI executive and Chief Security Officer at Bank of America
• Greg Henderson: Government Practice Lead, Fraud and Financial Crimes Global Practice, SAS Institute
• Patrick Maley: South Carolina State Inspector General

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