Nearly One in Three People Worldwide Report Being Victims of Digital Fraud, New Telesign Data Reveals

Telesign, the leading provider of customer identity and engagement solutions, released the second set of data from its 2024 Trust Index Report. Among the new findings, nearly one in three people globally report being a victim of digital fraud, with most victims reporting the crime occurred in the past six months. It also found that data breaches remain a significant driver of these fraud incidents, with nearly half of all reported fraud cases involving information stolen during a breach.

The study also found that the majority of people worldwide (58%) are more fearful of becoming fraud victims now than they were two years ago. This heightened fear of fraud is consistent across various demographics and regions, highlighting the growing global anxiety around digital security fueled by the rise of AI.

Globally, most people (58%) are more fearful than they were two years ago. Half of those surveyed (52%) have an increased fear of being the victim of fraud due to an increased necessity to submit personal information online, while 34% attribute the increased fear to someone they know becoming a victim of fraud, illustrating how new technology and personal connections amplify concerns.

“People long to connect with each other and the companies they love without compromise or fear. Paradoxically, our research has found that more people are not just more anxious about fraud but are reporting more recent and frequent incidents of it,” said Christophe Van De Weyer, CEO of Telesign. “It’s rare when reality and fear meet so profoundly. We face a digital fraud epidemic. We hope this report can serve as a wakeup call to the urgent need to build greater levels of protection into every digital interaction.”

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Data Breaches Continue to Fuel Fraud

Data breaches remain a significant driver of fraud incidents, with nearly half of all reported fraud cases involving information stolen during a breach. As more brands fall victim to data breaches, the number of fraud incidents linked to stolen data continues to rise year over year.

The Growing Role of AI in Fraud Attacks

In the United States, 30% of respondents reported being victims of fraud in the past three years, with 59% of these cases occurring within the last six months. This marks a notable 31% increase from the previous year. This surge is likely driven by the rapid evolution of fraud techniques, including the use of Generative AI. Fraudsters are increasingly deploying sophisticated AI tools to conduct more frequent and complex attacks, making it harder for consumers to protect themselves.

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Demographic Disparities in Fraud Victimization

The study’s findings reveal notable differences in fraud victimization rates among different demographics. Men report higher victimization rates than women (55% vs. 45%), while younger generations, particularly millennials, experience fraud more frequently than older generations – 45% of all fraud victims are millennials, compared to 28% of Generation X and 15% of Baby Boomers. This marks the second consecutive year that millennials have been the most targeted generation, underscoring the need for fraud protection solutions powered by AI to protect the integrity of personal data.

The Trust Index underscores the urgent need for businesses, governments, and individuals to prioritize trust and security in the digital world. With the rapid advancement of Generative AI fueling alarming fraud trends such as an increase in account takeover attempts, businesses must use technology like AI for good to stop fraud attempts in their tracks. Despite advances in detecting and removing deepfakes, distribution of AI-generated content via fake accounts remains a key challenge. A critical way for businesses to stop the spread of fake accounts and deepfakes is to implement secure protocols for proving users are real.

Telesign connects, protects, and defends companies, customers, and the digital interactions between them. Harnessing intelligence from more than 2,200 digital identity signals, Telesign’s AI models empower companies to transact with their customers free of fear, enabling the promise of the digital economy. Telesign helps its customers prevent the transmission of 30+ million fraudulent messages each month and protects 1+ billion accounts from takeovers every year.