Detecting Synthetic Identity Fraud

Synthetic Identity Fraud is the fastest-growing financial crime in the U.S. Payments System. SynthID® Detect identifies fraud and cyber threats at your financial institution in real time

What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?

In SIF schemes, criminals use a combination of real and falsified data to create and cultivate fictitious accounts as a precursor to subsequent fraud and criminal activity. This cobbling together of personal information makes the fraudulent activity difficult and time consuming to detect. Synthetic ID’s behave like legitimate accounts and may not be flagged as suspicious using traditional fraud detection models. This allows fraudsters to cultivate these fake identities, build positive credit histories, and increase their borrowing or spending power before “busting out” – maxing out their credit lines with no intention to repay-security threats and potential risks to the financial system at large.

As detailed in The Federal Reserve White Paper, Mitigating Synthetic Identity Fraud in the U.S. Payment System.