Topic summary
Fake identity
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Identity fraud.
Synthetic identity fraud
Synthetic identities are fake identities that combine fake information with actual ID data. For example, combining a real social security number along with a fake address and other synthetic data points. The fraudster can then use the fake identity to acquire driver's licenses, passports and other real ID as well as credit cards and other accounts. It is estimated that synthetic ID fraud accounts for 80% of all credit card fraud losses, and will increase 44% between 2014 and 2018, rising from $5 billion in annual losses to a projected $8 billion.