Unique View into Large-Scale Organized Identity Fraud Shows That Lax Regulations Continue to Propel Payments Sector Attacks

AU10TIX, a global technology leader in identity verification and management, released its Q1 2024 Global Identity Fraud Report. Drawing insights from millions of transactions processed around the globe from January to March 2024, the report uncovers significant trends in large-scale organized identity fraud. Most notably, the online gaming industry’s share of fraud increased by more than 250% over Q4 2023. However, the payments sector continues to be fraudsters’ top target, accounting for 62% of all attacks.

The payments sector continues to be identity fraudsters’ top target, accounting for 62% of all attacks.

This marks the first time that AU10TIX has recorded such high fraud numbers in the online gaming sector. 50% of the attacks were identified as “bonus abuse,” which involves the creation of multiple accounts to exploit promotional bonuses granted to new members. AU10TIX analysts believe that this increase may be the result of online gaming’s appeal to young people. They expect the sector share of fraud to decrease after more gaming platforms comply with new regulations and implement more comprehensive KYC and age verification solutions.

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Fraudsters have also increasingly targeted the payments sector over the past year, viewing it as a soft target due to its limited regulation. Since Q1 2023, its share of overall global identity fraud has grown from 39% to 62% — a 59% increase. AU10TIX analysts expect this trend to continue until the sector becomes more regulated.

AU10TIX’s report also compares the frequency of different fraud documents and modes, including document number, personal data, face picture, image template, and facial image capture (selfie). US passport ID cards continue to be the most forged documents, because they are easy to synthesize with deepfake technology and bypass monitoring systems undetected. As in previous quarters, fraud involving selfie capture represented less than 5% of attacks, repeatedly proving to deter attempts at identity fraud.

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“Organized criminal groups are increasingly using AI to commit large-scale, coordinated identity fraud,” said Dan Yerushalmi, CEO of AU10TIX. “Our advanced machine learning technology, multi-layered defense system, and consortium of 60+ tier-1 companies enable us to detect and prevent this sophisticated fraud, which most IDV platforms miss. We are committed to protecting our customers and leading the way with innovative, future-proof solutions that address emerging challenges effectively.”

AU10TIX’s Q1 2024 Global Identity Fraud Report offers three actionable insights to help organizations protect against identity fraud:

• Selfies stop fraud! Fraudsters find facial image capture an extremely difficult verification method to circumvent.
• Gaming providers can eliminate bonus fraud and ensure compliance by implementing robust KYC and age verification.
• Payments providers should strengthen their own KYC, KYB and AML protocols in the absence of strict regulations.