Identity fraud

When fraudsters misuse false or stolen identity data, this is called identity fraud. By stealing an identity, fraudsters are, for example, able to communicate on behalf of someone else, work illegally or buy things without paying. This can have major consequences for the individuals concerned but also for the government and businesses. 

There are various ways in which fraudsters manage to acquire a new identity : 

  • Offenders falsify their own identity data. 
  • Offenders create a false document for a non-existent person. 
  • Offenders misuse someone else's identity data. 

The two most common problems of identity fraud are phishing and lookalike fraud. Lookalike fraud is a form of misuse where someone uses an authentic travel document of another person to whom he or she bears an external resemblance.  Today, this accounts for 50% of all identity fraud. Phishing, on the other hand, is a form of cybercrime in which criminals send you an e-mail in an attempt to obtain personal data from you. The stolen personal data are often offered for sale and used for fraudulent purposes. This currently occurs very often and before you know it, you could be a victim yourself.  

In order to prevent identity fraud, it requires an enormous amount of training and expertise to recognise every identity document in circulation and to be able to verify its authenticity.  This is virtually impossible to do with the naked eye. Think of the current generation of identity documents. These documents contain a chip that can only be read and checked with specific equipment. Through the ORIBI ID-Solutions tools we can work with you to minimise identity fraud.   

Identity fraud