The global identity intelligence firm, AU10TIX has
released its report about the trends of identity fraud witnessed in
the third quarter of this year. This report disclosed a shift in global
identity fraud from the cryptocurrency sector to the digital payments space.
The crypto sector, historically a hotbed for
fraudulent practices, experienced a 51% decrease in fraud. Conversely, the
digital payments space saw a surge of 56% surge in scams. This
shift, according to AU10TIX’s report emailed to Finance Magnates, is attributed
to the impact of the EU’s Market in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.
Ofer Friedman, the Chief Business Development
Officer at AU10TIX, mentioned: “Organized crime groups are exploiting gaps
in detection technology to orchestrate financial fraud on a massive level
simultaneously across multiple businesses and geographies. Actual fraud rates
are multiple times higher than reported.”
The Impact of the MiCA Regulations
The introduction of the MiCA laws marked a
turning point in the crypto landscape, signaling the end of unregulated activities and a step towards safeguarding investors. The impact of this
regulation has led many entities globally to adopt stricter Know Your Customer
practices, making it challenging for crime organizations to operate in the sector.
Consequently, fraudsters are diverting their efforts
toward the less regulated payments sector. The report revealed alarming
statistics, indicating that the payments sector has become the prime target for
organized fraud groups, accounting for 51% of all financial fraud attacks. This
is a significant upsurge from 32% in the previous quarter.
In contrast, the crypto industry witnessed a decline,
accounting for only 23% of attacks, down from 47%.
North America Tops the List
Notably, North America emerged as the most targeted
region for the attacks i