What are the most reported identity fraud tactics over the past two years?
Incidents of identity fraud via video and audio deepfake tactics surged in 2024, according to a new global survey, underscoring the need for stronger cybersecurity protections in the workplace.
The poll from Regula, which surveyed 575 business decision-makers in five countries, found that incidents of audio and video deepfakes jumped to 49% in 2024.
This is a major hike from 29% of reported video deepfake incidents, and 37% of audio deepfake cases in 2022, according to the poll.
By country, the report said the United Arab Emirates was more susceptible to video deepfakes (56%), while Singapore saw more audio deepfakes (56%).
Deepfake incidents by sector
By sector, audio deepfakes were much more prominent in these sectors:
- Financial Services (51%)
- Aviation (52%)
- Crypto (55%)
On the other hand, video deepfakes are much more prevalent in these sectors:
- Law Enforcement (56%)
- Technology (57%)
- FinTech (57%).
"The surge in deepfake incidents over the two-year period of our survey leaves businesses no choice but to adapt and rethink their current verification practices," said Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula, in a statement.
"Deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and traditional methods are no longer enough."
One of the most notable cases of deepfake fraud as of late involved a multinational company in Hong Kong, which lost HK$200 million after an employee fell victim to a sophisticated deepfake video conference scam.
Separate findings from Deloitte also revealed that 51% of C-suite executives are expecting an increase in deepfake financial fraud attacks targeting their organisations' financial and accounting data in the next 12 months.
Other tactics for identity fraud
Meanwhile, fake or modified physical documents remained the top tactic for identity fraud across the world, according to Regula's poll.
It found that 58% of business leaders cited fake or modified physical documents as an identity fraud tactic over the past two years, up from 49% in 2022.
This is the top identity fraud tactic in countries like:
- Mexico (70%)
- the UAE (66%)
- the United States (59%)
- Germany (59%).
Synthetic identity fraud cases also slightly increased to 47% over the past two years, up from 46% in 2022.
As identity theft becomes more sophisticated, Kliashchou called for a "liveness-centric approach."
"What we think may work well is the liveness-centric approach, a robust procedure that involves checking the physical characteristics of both individuals and their documents; in other words, verifying biometrics and ID hardcopies in real-time interactions."