Identity fraud could be reaching a 'tipping point' in finance – study finds

The study found that a ‘trust gap’ may be widening between businesses and consumers, as identity theft becomes prevalent and businesses become overconfident. The report highlights how digital acceleration in 2020 has seen new groups of customers joining the digital economy for the first time: a third of consumers aged 75 or older signed up to a new online account in 2020, for example.

Moreover, despite a fifth of the public being hit by identity fraud in 2020, businesses are prioritising experience over security: more than a quarter (28%) say ‘high’ or ‘extreme’ levels of fraud are still accepted within their organisation.

Other key findings from the GBG State of Identity 2020 include:

• 47% of consumers opened an online shopping account in 2020, followed by social media (35%), and online banking (31%). They increasingly see their mobile number (50%), email address (48%) and biometric data (28%) as core parts of their identity;
• 1 in 3 have become more worried about fraud, because of COVID-19;
• 33% of the public now believe their personal information is currently available for sale online; research suggests that identities are 'for sale' on the dark web from as little as GBP 10;
• Businesses say credit and debit card fraud (56%), phishing attacks (46%) and e-transfer fraud (37%) are most prevalent today – but they are now least prepared to fend off synthetic identity fraud (26%), IP piracy (26%) and social engineering attempts (25%);
• Banks are most at risk of losing trust, topping the chart for consumers’ fears over fraud risk (36%) - followed by government fraud (11%).