Synthetic identity fraud now accounts for 11 percent of all fraud globally, an eightfold increase from 2024, according to LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ annual cybercrime report analyzing more than 116 billion transactions processed through its Digital Identity Network.
The findings carry direct implications for mobile banking and fintech platforms, where account opening and transaction verification increasingly rely on device-based identity signals. Synthetic identities, constructed by blending real and fabricated personal information such as a legitimate Social Security number paired with a fake name, can pass initial mobile onboarding checks and build credit histories over months before being used for large-scale theft. The report found that synthetic identities are now present across financial services, e-commerce, and government benefit programs.
The report also documents a 450 percent rise in agentic bot traffic during 2025 and a 59 percent year-over-year surge in malicious bot attacks. These AI-driven agents introduce a third category of digital interaction alongside genuine human users and traditional scripted bots, complicating fraud detection on mobile channels where behavioral signals are a primary defense. Traditional device fingerprinting and IP-based detection methods are increasingly ineffective against bots that mimic genuine human browsing behavior on smartphones and tablets.
Mobile-first fraud detection has become a critical priority as AI-driven biometric fraud has surged across the financial sector. Financial institutions and fintech providers are investing in layered defenses that combine device telemetry, behavioral biometrics, and document authentication to catch synthetic personas at the point of mobile account creation.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which acquired AI-powered identity verification firm IDVerse earlier this year, has been expanding its fraud prevention capabilities through behavioral biometrics and document authentication on mobile channels. The company’s platform analyzes mobile device telemetry alongside behavioral patterns to score transactions and flag synthetic personas in real time.
The trend aligns with broader industry data showing identity fraud surging 42 percent in 2024 as deepfakes and biometric attacks accelerated. Synthetic identity fraud has also hit record levels in auto lending, where mobile applications are a primary intake channel.
Overall global fraud attacks rose eight percent during the reporting period, driven primarily by the combination of synthetic identities and AI-powered bot networks targeting mobile financial services and digital commerce platforms.
Sources: PR Newswire, Computer Weekly
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By the Mobile ID World Editorial Team
