Lack of enforcement sees fraudsters resort to ‘brute force’ tactics, new report warns

By Louis Goss

Fraudsters are increasingly resorting to “brute force” tactics, having been emboldened by a lack of consequences for those who are caught, a new report says.

A lack of enforcement has seen fraudsters adopt increasingly unsophisticated methods, the report by Interpol and identity verification company Onfido says.

The situation has seen criminals turn to using blanket approaches in their efforts to find and take advantage of weak links in companies’ cyber defences, the report says.

The paper follows warnings from the National Audit Office (NAO) that the UK government lacks a coherent strategy for tackling fraud and has significant gaps in its understanding of the problem.

The situation has seen action taken against fraudsters drop over the past five years, even as the level of fraud has increased 15 per cent.

Simon Horswell, a fraud specialist at Onfido, told City A.M. fraudsters are using bots to “churn” out thousands of fake documents in their efforts to circumvent identity verification processes.

He said fraudsters are particularly targeting the gambling industry by creating fake accounts to take advantage of signing up bonuses.

Horswell said fraudsters are even using AI generated faces to slip through defences, as he warned criminals may soon begin using deep fake technology.

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