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What does Synthetic Identity Fraud mean?
Synthetic Identity Fraud involves creating a fabricated identity by incorporating both real and fake information. Systems believe that the fake data belongs to a real person, even though it does not. This fraud is mainly committed in the finance industry, e-commerce, and other similar industries.
Examples of Synthetic Identity Fraud
There are a lot of examples of this deception, not only done at a small scale but it is done at a very large scale as well.
Some of the examples of this fraud are:
E-Commerce:
Synthetic identities are made by fake information such as name, date of birth, and address that are commonly used by fraudsters in e-commerce for synthetic identity fraud, being portrayed as genuine information about a person. Low-amount purchases are first made by them, then after trust is built with the store, huge purchases of large amounts are started and the options like “buy now and purchase later” are used.
Additionally, after making huge purchases this remains undisclosed for a long period of time and can only be found once an e-commerce store realizes that there have been huge purchases and no payment for a long time.
Healthcare Sector:
In the healthcare sector, scammers register by providing fake information, receive health-related treatments, and disappear after obtaining all the top treatments. A healthcare source or an insurance company pays all the costs incurred by the scammer who used a synthetic ID and took advantage of the treatments.
Tax Refund:
These fraudsters steal money from the government by using the SSN of any person, like a kid or an elderly person who has not filed tax in a while, and creating a fabricated identity with fake names and addresses to file for a tax refund.
Synthetic identity Fraud warning signs
Here are the ways by which you can know if someone is doing synthetic identity fraud with you:
- You observe any irrelevant withdrawals and loans under your bank account that you have not made, that is fraud.
- You receive any bills from e-commerce platforms from where you haven’t made any purchases.
- You get constant notifications like someone is opening an account under your name.
- The government shares notifications like benefits asked under your name, address, or for any kind of security that you had not applied for, that must be the case that you are facing this fraud.
- Someone tries to login into your online account, that is the chance that someone might scam you.
- The bank does not accept loans or credits under your account.
What steps can keep you safe from Synthetic Identity Fraud?
There are some steps knowing them can keep you safe from this fraud:
- Always keep your SSN (Social Security Number) safe. Never share this with anyone; only use it where it is required and that you trust that specific institution.
- Keep an eye on emails and other messages from your banks or online platforms from where you make purchases using your personal information.
- Add two-factor authentication for additional strong security on your accounts, emails, etc. Use strong passwords, so it can be difficult to break them.
- Keep your children and elderly ones information private, because fraudsters mainly use these people information, as they don’t have a financial record of in a while.
- Once you know that you got affected by this fraud, at once freeze your credit cards.
What is SSN?
| SSN is “Social Security Number,” used by US citizens; it is a nine-digit code. Those who need it have to apply for it. SSN contains all the information, like past and present earning history. It is very important to keep SSNs safe so no one can use them for fraud purposes. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How does synthetic identity fraud impact my credit score?
When a fraudster uses a Social Security number, this scammer uses the SSN to get credit cards or loans or get a job under your identity. If they do not pay the bills, it looks like you did not pay, reducing the credit score. It can be difficult to get loans, credit cards, or other financial assistance when you need one, because of this.
Q2. Why is it difficult to catch synthetic ID fraud?
Deepfake technology and artificial intelligence have made it more difficult to catch scammers as they create strong fake information with it, so it gets really difficult to catch the fraud. They use real information about a kid or an elderly person like names, addresses, and SSNs then make a fake Identity.
Q3. What are the tools to use against Synthetic Identity Fraud?
Tools that can be used to detect Synthetic Identity Fraud:
1. LifeLock
2. Experian Credit Monitoring
3. IdentityForce
4. IDSheild
Conclusion
Synthetic Identity Fraud is the most common fraud in the digital world. Scammers make fabricated information using the names, addresses, and SSNs of a real person, which can be a kid or an elderly person. These fraudsters use this information in different ways and sectors, mostly in the finance sector, health care, and e-commerce, where people make online purchases. These scammers use this information to get treatments and make purchases under the real person, and once organizations realize that they haven’t gotten the payment for a long time, then they find out that fraud has happened. It is very difficult to know if this fraud has happened, and scammers are genius-minded and use deepfake and AI technologies.
It’s better to keep yourself safe by not sharing any SSN with anyone, including your kids, and to keep checking your online transaction emails and other statuses of credits.
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