Onfido Identity Fraud 2022 Report: Rise in Sophisticated Fraud Hints at Rise in Organized Crime Networks

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – (COMMERCIAL THREAD) – Onfido, the global provider of identity verification and authentication, today released its 2022 Identity Fraud Report, which reveals a new wave of organized fraud activity entering the market.

In the past 12 months, 47% of all Identity Document (ID) frauds were classified as “medium” sophisticated frauds, representing a 57% increase from the previous year. Less apparent errors, such as visibly incorrect fonts, mock security features, or poor photo printing technique, suggest an increase in fraud networks. These organized groups will attempt to create “verified” accounts with false documents before using them to engage in other types of fraud. The performance of this type of attack is higher than others, such as sign-up bonuses.

Identity theft losses increased 42% in 2020, reaching $ 712 billion, making digital identity verification essential for businesses. Whether for financial services, retail or healthcare, verifying that an online user is legitimate and present defines customer trust and determines whether a company is a leader or a laggard in the digital economy.

As consumers become more comfortable with digital transactions, scammers have stayed online with them, as the report found identity fraud has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. In 2020, identity fraud increased by 41%, with the average rate of identity fraud reaching 5.8%. Over the past 12 months, even as physical restrictions have started to lift, the average fraud rate has been recorded at 5.9%, showing that fraud has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels. The increase in fraud that was a direct result of the pandemic appears to be here to stay.

“Large-scale operations often carried out by criminal fraud networks have the resources to carry out sophisticated frauds such as deepfakes, 2D and 3D masks. They can also use techniques such as coercion. Businesses will see fewer of these types of attacks, but they can cause the most damage in the shortest possible time, ”said Michael Van Gestel, head of global document fraud at Onfido. “By incorporating biometric authentication and other sophisticated methods of identity verification, businesses can ensure that no matter how fraudsters try to take advantage of the evolving situation, they can dramatically reduce the risk of fraud for their organization and their customers. ”

Onfido partners with the international criminal police organization, INTERPOL, on the techniques and lessons of fraud. The agency contributed to the report, noting that “fraudulent documents open avenues for serious organized crime, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Therefore, failure to identify fraudulent documents in real-life and online scenarios poses a threat to the global economy, countries and their citizens. Increasingly, we have to adapt to the digital use of identity documents, as well as physical ones. Both businesses and governments face challenges when identifying fraud in this environment.

The third edition of Onfido’s annual identity fraud report also revealed:

• Passports have become the most frequently attacked identity document: In the past year, passports have overtaken national identity cards as the most frequently attacked form of identification. This indicates a change in the methods of scammers as they choose to target the one-sided passport page rather than a two-sided ID card, and target the more secure document in the hope that a passport’s reputation will help. the fake to disappear. not detected.
• The scammers abandoned the 9-5: Scammers have officially ditched the standard work week as weekend attacks have increased by over 50% since 2019, making fraud much harder to predict. This may be because hobbyists have moved into space as part-time scammers, or they are taking advantage of business downtime when there are fewer employees to spot suspicious activity. .
• Preference to start from zero: Over 90% of identity frauds in the past year involved counterfeit documents using a full reproduction of an original document, instead of adapting an existing ID. Modern identity documents contain several security features that make any modification (i.e. forgery) easily detectable, even to the untrained eye – but fraudsters are adapting and manufacturing more and more forgeries. sophisticated.
• Scammers have turned to retail: Retail fraud increased 36% year-on-year, making it one of the most attacked industries, ahead of financial and professional services.
• Biometrics are an effective deterrent against fraud: Far fewer scammers have attempted to bypass a biometric verification check than a document check. The average document fraud rate for 2021 was 5.9%, compared to 1.53% for selfies and 0.17% for videos.

“Biometric verification offers better protection against fraud than document verification alone – and a video selfie check offers superior protection compared to a photo selfie check,” said Sarah Munro, director of biometrics. “The video user experience itself acts as a natural fraud deterrent because it is a highly random active experience. Since video spoofing was only a fraction of all of our video checks, this makes it a great security measure for companies concerned with making fraud prevention a priority.

Methodology

The Onfido team of document fraud specialists process millions of identity documents each year, helping more than 800 customers detect fraud on 2,500 document types in 195 countries. The Identity Fraud Report 2022 shares information gained on the state of remote identity fraud over the past year, based on analysis of data collected from October 1, 2020 to October 1, 2021 and standardized by customer and industry distribution.

Request a demonstration of Onfido’s award-winning identity verification technology.

About Onfido

Onfido sets the new standard for digital access. The company digitally proves a user’s true identity using AI, by verifying a photo ID and comparing it to the person’s facial biometrics. This means businesses no longer need to compromise on customer experience, conversion, privacy, or security. This is how Onfido gives businesses the reassurance they need to securely on-board customers remotely.

Recognized as a global leader in AI for identity verification and authentication, Onfido is backed by TPG Growth, Idinvest Partners, Crane Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, M12 – Microsoft’s venture capital fund, and d ‘others. Onfido has raised $ 200 million in funding and, with more than 550 team members in eight countries, enables digital access to some of the world’s largest companies.

www.onfido.com

www.linkedin.com/company/onfido/

www.twitter.com/onfido