Fraud Management & Cybercrime , ID Fraud

Synthetic ID Fraud: What to Look Forward to in 2022

A Panel of Experts Discuss Why Synthetic ID Fraud Continues to Grow
(from left): Greg Woolf, Karen Boyer and John Buzzard

Automation, a good criminal network and the ability to use accounts as an alias are some of the factors contributing to synthetic ID fraud, says a panel of three experts - Karen Boyer, vice president, fraud at People’s United Bank; John Buzzard, lead fraud and security analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research; and Greg Woolf, CEO of FiVerity.

See Also: Kaspersky Lab's New Focus on Fraud Prevention

Also, fraudsters are using machine learning to scrape identity elements from the dark web that are able to evade traditional identity verification solutions. "The problem is businesses are not using AI correctly. Lot of businesses have a "set it and forget it" approach. But in order for AI to function properly, there needs to be some degree of human interaction to tune the risk engine," Boyer says.

"We have to be intelligent about how we apply artificial intelligence. Using PII in an algorithm to identify synthetic ID fraud does not work. We need to look at the profile of a person as he/she opens an account, irrespective of their address, age, etc.," Woolf says.

"It is important for financial institutions to explore their capability today on whether they can track the fraud case they are working as confirmed synthetics or not. Not everyone is doing that. As you are working on cases, try to look beyond the fraud and nonfraud categories," Buzzard says.

In this panel video interview with Information Security Media Group, the panelists also discuss:

  • How definition of synthetic ID fraud has helped mitigating the fraud;
  • How criminals are able to evade verification process
  • Lessons to apply in 2022.

Boyer is vice president, fraud at People’s United Bank, a regional bank in the Northeast U.S. with nearly 400 locations. She has more than 20 years of diverse banking experience, specializing in fighting fraud.

Buzzard is lead fraud and security analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research. He was previously the subject matter expert, fraud, at the security firm NICE Actimize. He has more than 20 years of experience within the areas of fraud, security and risk management.

Woolf is founder and CEO of FiVerity. He has more than 20 years of experience founding and running FinTech companies. He moderates AI industry groups with more than 10,000 members and is the founder the Boston AI Think Tank - a group of senior executives from prominent global financial institutions who, with current and former government regulators, are exploring how AI can improve financial crime detection for the financial services industry.


About the Author

Suparna Goswami

Suparna Goswami

Associate Editor, ISMG

Goswami has more than 10 years of experience in the field of journalism. She has covered a variety of beats including global macro economy, fintech, startups and other business trends. Before joining ISMG, she contributed for Forbes Asia, where she wrote about the Indian startup ecosystem. She has also worked with UK-based International Finance Magazine and leading Indian newspapers, such as DNA and Times of India.




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