Socure launches Sigma Synthetic Fraud to identify & combat synthetic identity fraud

By Pavithra R

Socure, a leading Day Zero identity verification technology provider, has announced the launch of Sigma Synthetic Fraud, to address the complex and rapidly growing problem of synthetic identity fraud. 

Synthetic ID fraud is one of the fastest-growing modern financial crimes worldwide and represents the next wave of complex fraud and financial theft online. Synthetic ID’s are created when a fraudster applies for an account using a combination of real and fake, or sometimes entirely fake information. 

As early as 2016, synthetic ID fraud accounted for 20% of total credit losses for U.S. lenders. The new Socure’s Sigma Synthetic Fraud offering which is available via a single API within Socure’s ID+ product suite achieves auto-capture of over 90% of synthetic ID fraud, for both new users and scrubbing existing customer portfolios. 

To deliver Sigma Synthetic Fraud, Socure used both supervised and unsupervised machine learning models to derive a standard definition of synthetic identity fraud across many of its largest banks, lenders and issuers. The solution effectively manages synthetic fraud risk without slowing down growth, degrading customer experience, or turning a blind eye to potentially risky, sleeper accounts in a company’s current portfolio of customers. When applied at account enrollment or to an existing customer portfolio, Sigma Synthetic assesses the risk of synthetic ID fraud and provides a quick decision(in a fraction of a second).

“As the volume of online applications for accounts and credit has grown exponentially, so has the opportunity for synthetic ID fraudsters who prey on the fact that this is a victimless crime and is extremely difficult to detect using conventional, 3rd party fraud detection methods. Tackling this growing problem requires a highly sophisticated machine-learning platform that is easy to deploy, easy to manage, and a team that is maniacally focused in eradicating identity fraud from the internet,” said Johnny Ayers, Founder & Chief Product Officer of Socure. 

Socure offers Sigma Synthetic Fraud both standalone and as part of the integrated ID+ platform alongside Sigma Identity Fraud, KYC Compliance, DocV, and more. The solution has achieved AUCs up to 97.44% with auto-capture rates as high as 91% in the top 3% of riskiest users. Sigma Synthetic and all Socure products are accessible via a single API that powers the entire Socure ID+ platform.

“Our clients must address synthetic ID fraud for a number of reasons, but most importantly to avoid the typically severe monetary losses from unpaid balances often in the tens of thousands of dollars per incident,” added Ayers.

Founded in 2012, Socure’s mission is to be the single source of trusted identity for every business-to-consumer transaction, eliminating identity fraud while fueling growth. The firm is continuously evolving its machine learning and data curation strategies to power its Socure ID+ Platform, an identity engine, and make it even smarter.

Also, read Cybersecurity in Financial Services Report 2020