If your name is Michael Smith and you're from Houston you could be a fake
New research from identity verification company Socure looks at patterns surrounding how fraudsters construct synthetic identities to identify factors that may assist in identifying and thwarting this kind of crime.
The study shows that criminals employing synthetic identities do their best to blend them with the overall population. So in the majority of cases, synthetic identities fell into the most common demographics and consumer traits.
The four most used names for synthetic identities are consistent with the top four names in the US Social Security Administration's list of the most popular birth names over the past century. After studying the fraud data's most popular first names and surnames, Socure's team found that the name most likely to be used for synthetic identities is Michael Smith. He is also most apt to be 31-years old, born in August, and reside in a single-family home located in Houston.
Fraud relating to synthetic identities poses a growing threat to industries, government agencies, and consumers. If this kind of fraud continues to go unchecked, losses will double from the estimated $2.48 billion this year to nearly $5 billion in 2024, according to a new report.
"Battling this kind of fraud poses many challenges and some can be traced to modern credit reporting practices and how fraudsters exploit them," says Johnny Ayers, founder and CEO of Socure. "At Socure, we strongly believe we can eradicate synthetic fraud within the next three years, and stop the damage that bad actors are committing against consumers and our financial system. That goal inspired us to develop a product that is far more precise in identifying synthetic fraud than anything else in the market, while removing friction from the acquisition of legitimate consumers."
The US Department of Justice has said that synthetic identity fraud is the country’s fastest growing financial crime. The COVID pandemic became an important catalyst for synthetic fraudsters, according to Socure's research. Also consumers hurt by the economic downturn have increased their use of fraudulently manipulated identities to gain access to credit card and personal lending loans.
The full report is available from the Socure site.
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