Pressing warning issued to individuals promoting their identities on-line

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Your help makes all of the distinction. Learn extra There's a “worrying development” of individuals promoting their very own identities, a fraud prevention service has mentioned.

The promoting of identities, usually within the hope of economic reward, leaves individuals accountable for loans or credit score taken out of their identify by criminals.

Fraud prevention service Cifas, whose members embody banking, retail, insurance coverage, and telecoms our bodies, mentioned that greater than 118,000 circumstances the place identification fraud was suspected had been recorded between January and June 2025.

It mentioned the continued risk is being exacerbated by AI (synthetic intelligence)-enabled artificial identities and fabricated profiles that may bypass safety checks.

It highlighted issues that persons are typically promoting their very own identities, sometimes on the promise of engaging monetary alternatives.

However by giving criminals entry to official credentials, Cifas is warning that folks threat having money owed constructed up by others of their identify.

Releasing its newest Fraudscape report, Cifas mentioned that criminals are utilizing superior AI to create faux identities, forge paperwork, and bypass verification techniques with “alarming accuracy”.

<img src="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/07/30/14/430aab98724192514b2f5685f65d19ceY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUzOTY3ODIx-2.22508624.jpg" srcset="https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/07/30/14/430aab98724192514b2f5685f65d19ceY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUzOTY3ODIx-2.22508624.jpg?quality=75&width=320&auto=webp 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/07/30/14/430aab98724192514b2f5685f65d19ceY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzUzOTY3ODIx-2.22508624.jpg?quality=75&width=640&auto=webp 640w" loading="lazy" alt="By giving criminals access to legitimate credentials, Cifas is warning that people risk having debts built up by others in their name." class="sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE"/> By giving criminals entry to official credentials, Cifas is warning that folks threat having money owed constructed up by others of their identify. (PA Archive) It mentioned identification fraud dangers have unfold throughout numerous sectors, together with false purposes and identification theft in motor insurance coverage; cell account takeovers; and gambling-related identification fraud together with criminals misusing the identities of people that have died.

There has additionally been a rise in circumstances involving staff committing fraud in opposition to employers, Cifas mentioned, with organisations reporting that extra staff had been concealing their background data to safe roles.

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Secret “polygamous working” – the place individuals maintain a number of jobs or roles with out their employer’s information or consent – in addition to utilizing fraudulent reference homes to cowl employment gaps – are additionally a persistent risk to employers, Cifas mentioned.

Its Fraudscape report confirmed that, in whole, greater than 217,000 fraud threat circumstances had been recorded to the Nationwide Fraud Database (NFD) by Cifas members from January to June 2025.

Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, mentioned: “Fraud is a nationwide emergency – and AI has supercharged the risk, making it extra subtle and more durable to detect. No sector, enterprise, or particular person is immune.

“Tackling this fast-changing hazard requires pressing, co-ordinated motion by means of cross-sector collaboration and the sharing of information and intelligence. Solely by working collectively can we keep forward of the criminals and maintain organisations and folks secure from hurt.”