Coordinated Bot Mega-Attack and Escalating Deepfake Threats Severely Impact APAC Region

AU10TIX, a global technology leader in identity verification and management, released its Q2 2024 Global Identity Fraud Report. Drawing insights from millions of transactions processed around the globe from April to June 2024, the report uncovers significant trends in large-scale organized identity fraud. This quarter, AU10TIX recorded the highest-ever number of automated bot attacks targeting social media platforms; the sector accounted for a mere 3% of all attacks in Q1 but skyrocketed to 16% in Q2. The APAC region also proved vulnerable to bot attacks targeting the payments sector which included a focused mega-attack comprising over 5,000 fraudulent onboarding attempts.

Imperva’s 2024 Bad Bot Report indicates that impersonation bots command 32% of Internet traffic. These automated programs are designed to mimic real human identities and behaviors, often enhanced with deepfake technology to create highly convincing fake profiles. AU10TIX has observed an increasing number of bad actors using bots to create fake social media accounts, spread disinformation and malware, manipulate online interactions, and ultimately distort public discourse. In addition to influencing politics and public opinion, these profiles also often lead to the creation of banking, payment, and cryptocurrency accounts that are used for fraudulent purposes like money laundering and other sophisticated schemes.

Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Tricia Houston, Vice President of Discovery & Design, KS&R

This quarter, AU10TIX recorded the highest-ever number of automated bot attacks targeting social media platforms.

The APAC region has become particularly vulnerable to financial-related identity fraud, driven partly by the emergence of AI-powered Fraud-as-a-Service (FaaS) companies enabling large-scale attacks. In addition to the Q2 mega-attack, the region is now grappling with a 1,530% increase in deepfake incidents and a fraud rate that increased 24% between 2022 and 2023. As a result, the region now suffers the world’s highest fraud rate, with 3.27% of all transactions proving fraudulent.

“Bots and deepfake tech are enabling criminals to automate complex scams that used to take a lot more effort, making them incredibly efficient and dangerous,” said Dan Yerushalmi, CEO of AU10TIX. “The biggest danger lies in the bots’ ability to mimic human behavior with enough variability to bypass traditional detection methods. AU10TIX remains committed to protecting our customers with industry-leading solutions like our Serial Fraud Monitor, which is the only product on the market that can detect widespread bot-driven fraud at scale.”

Marketing Technology News: The Role of AI and Machine Learning in AdTech

On a positive note, AU10TIX’s analysts believe that INTERPOL’S HAECHI IV and First Light operations of Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 targeting online financial crime and social engineering fraud disrupted criminal networks operating in the payments industry as the company witnessed a 17% decline in attacks targeting the payments sector in Q2.

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

Social Media Must Self-Regulate: Platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram can maintain credibility among the public by requiring platform users to authenticate their identity.
Leverage Advanced Fraud Detection Technologies: Deepfake detection, consortium validation and similar technologies can effectively combat the rising threat of social media impersonation.
Adopt Multi-layered Authentication Measures: Implementing a combination of KYC/KYB solutions, biometric verification, and advanced organized fraud detection tools can significantly enhance an organization’s defenses against identity fraud.