In early 2024, a finance employee dialled into what looked like an ordinary video meeting with the CFO and several senior colleagues. In reality, every other participant on the call was a deepfake. Before the scheme was discovered, $25m had been wired to fraudulent accounts.
According to Consilient, The technology behind that attack has since become cheaper, quicker and far more accessible. Deloitte forecasts that global fraud losses driven by generative AI could climb to $40bn by 2027, up from roughly $12bn in 2023.
Consilient recently discussed generative AI and financial crime, and the topic of what happens when deception outpaces control design.
Synthetic identities, voice cloning and AI-assisted mule recruitment are already fully operational, yet most AML control frameworks were designed around what financial crime looked like in the past.
Synthetic identities become an industrial…
This involves defrauding the state or using government systems to steal from individuals.
- Tax Identity Theft: A criminal uses your ID and income details to file a tax return in your name and claim a refund before you do.
- Grant/Benefit Fraud: Falsely claiming unemployment, disability, or social grants that the perpetrator is not entitled to.