81% of survey participants see AI fraud as a new threat

More details about the research

The research delves into the present scenario of stolen and synthetic identity fraud in North America, offering insights into the obstacles encountered by financial institutions (FIs) and the growing risk posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Deduce representatives stated that their study indicates that AI magnifies risks by generating stolen and synthetic identities, making them more difficult to identify. This emerging fraud challenge is leading to a rise in false positives, as current fraud

 detection methods struggle to distinguish AI-driven fraud from genuine customers, resulting in added inconvenience. To combat fraud, promoting collaboration across industries is important to outsmart fraudsters and protect the integrity of financial systems.

For the study, Datos Insights interviewed 15 senior-level executives specialising in fraud, risk, and compliance from prominent banks across North America. The selection criteria were based on their key roles in managing financial crime strategy, operations, and prevention within their institutions.

Key findings:

• Emerging concern: an alarming 81% of survey participants acknowledge AI-driven fraud as a new threat and express intentions to improve defences to combat synthetic fraud.
• Ongoing issue: the prevalence of stolen and synthetic identity fraud remains a challenge for financial institutions in North America, with many struggling to accurately assess the impact of synthetic identity attacks, despite having detection measures in place.
• Deepfake risks: instances of AI-generated deepfakes circumventing document verification procedures underscore weaknesses in current identity validation tools.
• Tracking discrepancies: the industry's lack of standardised tracking and reporting procedures impedes efforts to effectively tackle synthetic identity fraud.
• Detection challenges: current methods for identifying stolen and synthetic identities often fall short, complicating the differentiation between legitimate and fraudulent identities for financial institutions.
• AI Generation threat: generative AI technology poses a notable risk to identity authentication processes, potentially facilitating the creation of more sophisticated and challenging-to-detect synthetic identities.

Read the complete study here.