Editorial

Quarter of UK firms affected by biometric fraud

New report finds businesses are failing to protect themselves from fraud by lacking KYC, AML, and other preventative measures

Posted 6 March 2023 by Christine Horton


Global identity fraud rates are continuing to climb, with new research indicating a 30 percent year-over-year increase in document fraud ID theft, authorised push payment scams, fake documentation and deepfakes.

Shufti Pro’s 2022 Identity Fraud Report claims that scammers have adopted new ways of leveraging AI to not only bypass KYC measures, but also tamper with bills and ID cards. And with the multiple bank closures, the manipulation of documents and digital ID is on the rise.

The research says 2.9 million cases of fraud were reported in 2022, with 1.43 million of those being related to ID theft. In the UK specifically, one in four businesses were affected by biometric fraud and document forgery (25 percent) in 2022.

Shufti Pro’s report reveals new types of fraud and industrial trends, explaining methods of document and digital ID manipulation, and providing recommendations for how businesses can protect themselves from fraud in 2023. The research shows document and biometrics fraud as the top categories of scammers leverage the power of AI to tamper with bills, ID cards, and use deepfake technologies to bypass KYC measures. With the closures of more than 600 banks in the UK, the adoption rate of digital channels has immensely accelerated, whilst directly impacting bank fraud and ID theft, it said.

Scammers one step ahead

Although £1.4 billion of fraud was prevented in 2021, criminals managed to steal £1.3 billion, continuing into 2022 with consumers losing over £609 million in the first half of the year. 

“As technology continues to advance, scammers are becoming increasingly creative in their tactics to overthrow security measures and protocols,” said Victor Fredung, CEO of Shufti Pro. “Although businesses are pushing their customers to use techniques such as MFA and KYC, scammers are counteracting these safety mechanisms by duplicating and stealing IDs, and using fake liveness tech.

“Businesses cannot compromise when it comes to their security needs – ensuring the safety and security of their customers must be at the forefront. Using techniques such as 2FA with liveness checks, implementing account deduplication, and consistently monitoring customer accounts for suspicious activity are indisputable steps businesses must take to fight document fraud and theft.”

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