Identity fraud predicted to grow in 2022

The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) predicts that cyberthreats will shift from identity theft to identity fraud in 2022, especially through pandemic-related identity crimes.

“In 2021, we saw threat actors become more targeted and strategic,” Eva Velazquez, president and CEO of ITRC, said in a release. “We saw them strike with social engineering scams like Google Voice and Instagram account takeovers, using psychological tactics instead of technical expertise to manipulate people’s behavior. We also tracked a record number of data breaches and a steady flow of new victims of unemployment benefits identity fraud long after the enhanced benefits ended.”

Based on this, she says, the ITRC expects an increase in identity fraud that will change consumer behaviors, revictimization rates, and pandemic-related identity crimes for the next several years. In addition, alternative digital-payment methods such as payment apps, digital wallets, and peer-to-peer services will be a focus of cybercriminals.

The six trends ITRC expects to see in 2022 include:

• The shift from identity theft to identity fraud — the accumulation of personally identifiable information (PII) to the misuse of PII — will accelerate.

• Identity fraud will drive behavior change as consumers withdraw from certain interactions, transactions, and communication channels — such as online shopping, emails, or certain websites.

• The effects of pandemic-related fraud will continue into 2024, with new types of benefits fraud emerging this year.

• Malware is out and ransomware and supply-chain attacks are in. The ITRC believes ransomware may catch up to or surpass phishing-related breaches as the number-one cause of data breaches while supply-chain attacks will become the third most common.

• Revictimization rates will continue to increase. In 2021, 29 percent of those reporting incidents indicated they were repeat victims. In addition, incidents that target multiple individuals or organizations will impact greater numbers of victims and social-media account takeovers will leverage the followers to create new chains of victims.

• Cybercriminals will shift their focus as consumers turn toward alternative digital-payment forms instead of using debit and gift cards. As cryptocurrency transactions become more common, cybercriminals will focus on finding ways to scam consumers.

With all these trends, consumers and how they behave online play a huge role. Consumers must take the necessary steps to protect themselves from cybercrime through education and data protection.

Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org) says it is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, businesses, and government to minimize and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime.