A new study from ID:A Labs shows that the rate of synthetic identity fraud has increased more than 100 percent since 2010. Synthetic identity fraud occurs when a fraudster fabricates a new and false identity that is not associated with a real person. The absence of a victim may enable synthetic fraud to remain undetected for months.
Fraudsters use this technique for financial gain, often nurturing the synthetic identity to generate larger credit limits and therefore larger loss amounts than the average identity theft scenario. Additionally, fraudsters can also use this technique to mask other types of criminal activity.
This study explores the latest research findings in the area of synthetic identities and how to better protect your business from synthetic fraud.