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Two Companies that Help Government Fight Fraud Merge

Fraud can cost government programs such as unemployment insurance millions. Two companies that help the public sector identify it, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Accuity, are merging their products and data together.

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LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Accuity, two subsidiaries of a larger holding company, are officially merging their operations together, combining technology that helps track and identify financial fraud.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions offers a wide variety of solutions, including identity verification and anti-fraud tools for public-sector programs such as unemployment insurance and tax collection. Accuity helps process payments and delivers “Know Your Customer” tools to help financial institutions with due diligence.

Unemployment insurance fraud has been an especially salient issue during the COVID-19 pandemic; stay-at-home orders and business closures have led to historically high unemployment claims, through which some have perpetrated fraud. California, for example, has been struggling to combat a widespread scheme where prison inmates’ identities have been used to collect unemployment money for others.

“Both companies share a common vision — enabling financial transparency and inclusion around the world using innovative technology and comprehensive data to help our customers control risk, enhance and empower compliance and optimize business processes,” said Rick Trainor, CEO of LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ business services segment, in a statement. “The Accuity suites for payments and compliance professionals will complement our existing global solutions, including Financial Crime Compliance and Fraud & Identity Management.”

The merger of the two companies, both part of the RELX Group, will also mean the merger of their databases, potentially creating new insights to help governments fight fraud and financial institutions identify crimes such as money laundering.

Ben Miller is the associate editor of data and business for Government Technology. His reporting experience includes breaking news, business, community features and technical subjects. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and lives in Sacramento, Calif.