This new form of fraud is more complex, long-lived, and difficult to identify. Find out what it is and how to protect your company from this crime.
With the constant evolvement of technology usage, people's personal data is more exposed than before. This information vulnerability gives way to a new type of fraud, which has been promulgated in recent years. These are synthetic identity frauds.
But what is this type of fraud?
Synthetic Identity fraud is a form of fraud where a person's data is stolen and manipulated to create a false identity with which they can commit credit crimes, among others. In this type of fraud, criminals use personal information from different persons, such as names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, etc. to create a false identity that does not belong to any real person. It is a long-term, sophisticated crime, usually carried out by teams seeking to make the most profit from the fictitious profile for as long as they can keep the fictitious identity afloat.
There are different types of synthetic identities: manipulated, mixed and fabricated.
Manipulated: uses real information and documentation together with fabricated data.
Mixed: using real information from multiple persons or sources.
Fabricated: made-up data, usually random, that may appear to be true and falls into the correct range.
Why is it so dangerous?
The information is usually obtained from black market databases, which sell personal data illegally. Although the cases vary by country, there are different data elements of personal information that differ. For example, in the United States, much of the information is public, but they can do almost all the procedures with the social security number and a full name. This makes it a greater risk when trying to identify the fictitious identity.
In addition, the main victim is usually unaware of the theft of their documents or information, so they cannot alert the companies that become the victims of the fraud with the same data. In a company, the best way to combat this crime is with prevention and detection of impersonated identities from their origin. For example, in the financial sector, which is one of the sectors that suffers the most from this crime. The company is the one that needs to prevent fraud and without a specific victim, it is difficult for a company to detect it if they have already logged in or opened an account. They can create charges, ask for credits and then disappear with no way to contact them since the information provided was never real.
How to prevent it?
The best way to combat synthetic identity fraud is preventing the creation of fake profiles. It can be achieved with identity verification processes; such as KYC verification, background checks, Onboarding processes and "life checks" when opening a new account. This way the modified documentation can be identified and the person that could be harmed would not be affected.
With Nufi we can help you prevent Synthetic Identity Fraud. At Nufi we do identify validation for any Mexican person or company. You can do Background Checks, KYC verification with Onboarding and prevent identity fraud in a simple and effective manner.