Rising Threats: How Identity Fraud Affects the Digital Channel

Foreword

This report, sponsored by FIS, will examine how identity fraud affects digital channels. The compilation of issues ranges from the ever-changing regulatory environment to how financial institutions deal with the increasingly sophisticated financial crime tactics perpetrated by criminals. Javelin recently published its 2022 Identity Fraud Study, titled The Virtual Battleground. The study concluded that in 2021 alone 42 million U.S. adult consumers were victimized by identity fraud, resulting in a collective $52 billion financial impact on the financial service industry. The overwhelming losses have long-range effects on the client experience, know-your-customer (KYC) standards, and a variety of compliance and regulatory obligations. 

As financial institutions recalibrate the client experience to be friction-free and appealing, there are also regulations and compliance-driven dynamics such as the KYC process that must constantly be taken into consideration. 

This report was adapted from the 2022 Identity Fraud Study, The Virtual Battleground, published by Javelin Strategy & Research in March 2022. Javelin Strategy & Research maintains complete independence in its data collection, findings, and analysis.

Overview

Financial institutions are facing rising incidents of account-based fraud. The steep acceleration of identity fraud and criminals’ ability to extract excessive amounts of personally identifiable information (PII) using sophisticated techniques and social engineering have weaponized information in the digital channel. The expenses associated with these schemes are shouldered to varying degrees by consumers and their financial service providers. Additional complications are also born out of the ever-present need to adhere to compliance and due-diligence requirements without compromising the client experience. Despite numerous challenges, technology and improved business processes are still the essential ingredients required for protecting the digital channel and beyond.