Fraudulent transactions in the first half of 2024 were up more than 73% year over year, and suspected fraudulent transactions increased by more than 84%, according to the 2024 Mid-Year Identity Fraud Review, released this week by AuthenticID, a provider of identity verification and fraud prevention solutions. The report explores the continued rise in identity-based fraud across multiple industries and the accelerating effect of AI technology on fraud tactics while outlining the latest tools businesses can use to fight fraud.
The data offers a stark warning to businesses about the threats and customers’ responses to business responses posed by identity fraudsters. The report analyzes identity fraud trends based on two sources: internal proprietary data anonymized and analyzed from AuthenticID’s ID verification, biometric authentication, and watchlist technologies and insights from AuthenticID’s fraud surveys conducted in Q2 2024, which surveyed consumers in North America.
The surge in AI-enabled fraud and the increased use of deepfakes for identity fraud tactics like account takeover attacks and injection attacks have a significant impact on fraud trends and consumer sentiment. Noteworthy implications on businesses and consumers in the report include:
- 40% of survey respondents have already had their data exposed as part of a breach in 2024;
- 91% of people could not select a real person from a line of deep fake headshots; and
- 68% of people said that the threat of identity fraud impacts how they make purchases, open accounts, and do business.
“What we’ve seen thus far in 2024 is that identity crime will continue to hit record highs, targeting both businesses and consumers,” said Blair Cohen, AuthenticID founder and president. “With the proliferation of new, generative AI-powered tools for fraudsters, businesses and consumers face a significant challenge in the form of breaches and business attacks. But those same generative AI-powered tools can also stop fraud. It’s up to businesses to stay ahead of fraud as it continues to evolve—fast.”
The report also documents consumer and business sentiment regarding digital identity trends, such as biometric authentication and the growth of mobile driver’s licenses, with a notable shift in consumer openness to adopting digital identity credentials and biometric authentication to access accounts.
The report also shares developments from AuthenticID’s Identity Fraud Taskforce, including new product enhancements that solve crucial challenges in identity verification, such as synthetic signatures, false authentication rates, slow verifications, and deep fakes.
