Fright Night Fraud: Unmasking the Monsters in Your Data

Much like the creature from Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein identities are cobbled together. Fraudsters use pieces of stolen or leaked data: bits of real names, addresses, national insurance numbers and behavioural traits. Notoriously difficult to detect, they pass as genuine users, slipping through onboarding checks and infiltrating financial systems, gaming platforms and public services.

Synthetic identity fraud, its official name, is now one of the fastest-growing threats in the UK, and we estimate as many as 5 million UK consumers may be synthetic identity fraud creations.¹ Worryingly, the suspected volume of this fraud has increased 3.7% across industries in the past year and 184% since 2019,² with £300 million in losses recorded in 2024 alone.³

Industries at risk: FinTech, Banking, Government services, Telecom, Insurance, and eCommerce.

Detection tip: Tap into data-led insights to highlight suspicious identity profiles — using device intelligence, document verification and facial biometrics to step-up, as necessary.

Online Dating platforms are fertile ground for emotional manipulation. Scammers use AI-generated photos, voice cloning and scripted conversations to build trust and extract money or sensitive information. Alarmingly, 40% of dating site users reported being asked for money online.⁶ These digital vampires’ prey on loneliness and vulnerability, often targeting users across the UK.

Last year, UK consumers lost over £94.7 million to romance scams,⁴ with average individual losses reaching £10,774 — no small sum. Alongside impersonation fraud and first-party fraud, our fraud leader survey found 67% of UK fraud leaders cited synthetic fraud the leading cause of losses often linked to romance scams.⁵

Industries at risk: Online Dating, Telecom

Detection tip: Monitor for rapid relationship escalation, mismatched IP locations and sudden large payments to third parties.

Bot farms harvest data at scale, scraping user profiles, login credentials and transaction histories. This data fuels credential stuffing attacks, synthetic identity creation and targeted scams. They’re the digital equivalent of a zombie horde: relentless, automated, and hard to stop. Our survey reveals 98% of UK fraud leaders are concerned about synthetic fraud affecting their books and suspect they’re often fuelled by bot-driven data harvesting.⁷

Industries at risk: Gaming, Telecom, Banking

Detection tip: Deploy device fingerprinting, robust verification checks and IP intelligence to detect and block bot activity.

Ghost broking is a growing threat in the insurance sector. Fraudsters pose as legitimate brokers, selling fake or invalid insurance policies — often targeting young drivers or vulnerable consumers online. Victims only discover the scam when they try to make a claim or get stopped by authorities.

TransUnion data shows ghost broking surged 100% – 300% in 2024,⁸ with 30% of young drivers purchasing fake insurance from ghost brokers.⁹ Of those affected, 17% were stopped by police for driving without valid insurance.¹⁰

Industries at risk: Insurance

Detection tip: Monitor for suspicious devices applying on your platforms, verify broker credentials with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), educate consumers on how to spot fake policies, and monitor for unusual policy patterns or bulk purchases.