Synthetic Identity Fraud

What is Synthetic Identity Fraud?

Synthetic identity fraud is a type of scam where criminals combine real and fake information to create a completely new, fictitious identity. For example, they might use a real Social Security number with a fake name and address to open fraudulent accounts.

Why It Matters

• It is one of the fastest-growing types of financial crime because the fake identities can be used to build credit over several years.

• Because there is no clear “victim” to report the identity theft, these fraudulent accounts can remain active for a long time.

• Detecting synthetic identities requires advanced data matching and identity verification tools that look for inconsistencies across multiple databases.