58 percent of businesses experienced an overall increase in fraud, IDology finds

IDology’s Sixth Annual Fraud Report surveys hundreds of executives and analysts in risk, fraud, compliance, product and operations, to capture the impact, incidence rate and perception of fraud on leading companies. Rather than focusing on specific incidents and transactions, the report is based on first-hand feedback from professionals working to fight fraud.

With the frequency and depth of data breaches in recent years, a large amount of personal information has become available on the dark web. This abundant access to usernames and passwords, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers and account information has made it easier and cost-effective for criminals to commit fraud in customer-not-present environments, such as mobile and online. It’s easy to see why 67% of companies reported that fraud increased online and 63% in mobile.

The majority of Americans own a mobile phone, so it isn’t surprising that it’s one of the fastest growing threats to businesses and consumers. In fact, the prevalence of mobile fraud increased 117% compared to 2018. In addition, IDology’s consumer digital identity study revealed that mobile malware is also a concern among 80% of consumers.

Within the last 12 months, 47% of consumers (an estimated 100.6 million mobile phone owners) experienced at least one mobile change event. These frequent change events make establishing and maintaining a digital device identity difficult and complex.

Retailers are looking for new strategies and technologies to improve identity verification and prevent fraud in a way that won’t negatively impact the customer experience. The report shows that the biggest trends in identity verification over the next three to five years will be verifying identities using mobile device attributes, artificial intelligence, machine learning and submitting ID documents via mobile devices.

Finding ways to keep fraud out and make transactions easier for customers is becoming one of the most important elements of fraud prevention. The vast majority of businesses surveyed, 85% said identity verification can be a strategic differentiator. The opportunity exists for retailers to leverage advancements in identity verification to build trust, increase efficiency and improve the customer experience.