Laura Hyde |
Social media identity fraud has risen 25 per cent in the lead-up to the US presidential election on 5 November 2024, according to a report released by identity verification and management company AU10TIX.
The Q3 2024 Global Identity Fraud Report, which was published at Money 20/20 USA in Las Vegas, analysed millions of transactions from around the globe between July and September 2024 and discovered “significant trends” in large-scale organised identity fraud. Automated bot attacks targeting social media platforms surged, accounting for 28 per cent of all attacks in quarter three (31 July – 30 September), up from just three per cent in quarter one (1 January – 31 March).
The report also identified a faster-than-anticipated leap in the sophistication of artificial intelligence-powered impersonation bots and deepfake technology, including synthetic selfies that can bypass some verification systems.
Rapid developments in AI technology have facilitated the growth of identity fraud, enabling automated mega-attacks of thousands of false identities targeting payments, crypto and social media companies to be launched all over the world. AU10TIX observed an especially high number of bot attacks combined with deepfake content in attempts to open fake social media accounts throughout quarter three. Some of these attacks appear to incorporate advanced randomised generative AI elements, marking a new level of automated detection evasion.
The rise in attacks began in March and peaked in September. During this period, the first synthetic selfies were recorded. Historically, selfies have been one of the least-used methods of fraud, due to the difficulty of outsmarting facial matching technology. However, fraudsters are now exploiting sophisticated technology to create deepfaked selfies that match the synthetic IDs they use to trick automated ‘know your customer’ processes.
“Fraudsters are evolving faster than ever, leveraging AI to scale and execute their attacks, especially in the social media and payments sectors,” said Dan Yerushalmi, CEO of AU10TIX. “While companies are using AI to bolster security, criminals are weaponising the same technology to create synthetic selfies and fake documents, making detection almost impossible. The only way to detect this type of fraud is by analysing behaviour at the traffic level, as AU10TIX does with our Serial Fraud Monitor. We are committed to continually advancing our detection methods to protect customers against this rapid evolution of fraud tactics, using a combination of advanced AI, biometric verification and deepfake detection.”
The AU10TIX report also identified a 20 per cent rise in the use of “image template” attacks by harmful/illegal organisations. This trend suggests AI is being used to rapidly create variations of synthetic identities, including photos, document numbers and other personal information, using the same ID template. This type of attack has risen in the Asia-Pacific region and North America, but similar surges have not been observed in other regions of the world.
Although the report also discovered fraud rates in the payments sector had fallen from 52 per cent in quarter two to 39 per cent in quarter three, the payments industry has continued to be the most targeted segment. Fraudsters have shifted their attention to less regulated sectors like the crypto market, which accounted for 31 per cent of quarter three attacks.
AU10TIX’s Q3 2024 Global Identity Fraud Report offers three actionable insights to help organisations protect against identity fraud. It suggests adopting behaviour-based detection and encourages organisations to analyse user behaviour and traffic patterns. Organisations must also leverage AI-driven solutions to combat AI fraud attacks. Finally, organisations must enhance detection systems to spot new forms of fraud, such as synthetic selfies.
AU10TIX will be demonstrating its identity management solutions for the final day of Money 20/20 USA in Las Vegas at booth #9815. Discover more news from Money 20/20 on our dedicated landing page.