Singapore – The majority (97%) of businesses in Asia-Pacific expressed concerns about the increasingly sophisticated and widespread fraud, indicating a worrying trend across the region. This is according to the latest report from global identity and location firm GBG, which surveyed fraud prevention professionals in APAC.
Data from the findings showed that fraud attempts have increased, with 70% of the respondents noting a rise compared to last year. The surge is further driven by the gen AI emerging as a major fraud threat, with 35% believing it will be used to create more realistic synthetic identities.
The said concern was reportedly caused by various reasons, which revealed that 27% perceived GenAI as a tool to create more convincing synthetic identities, and about 26% believed that GenAI would increase the accuracy of fake ID documents and possess a strong influence on phishing and smishing.
Moreover, a lack of collaboration among businesses to combat fraud was highlighted. In particular, the report showed that while most respondents acknowledge the importance of information sharing, less than half of them are actively participating in initiatives like industry forums and data exchange solutions.
Approximately 83% of respondents also think that organisations are too worried about maintaining a competitive advantage to participate in collaboration to combat fraud. Another 79% further believe global governments are not doing enough to support cross-sector collaboration.
In addition, various fraud types have also surged across the surveyed industries, with a significant rise in digital presence impersonation at 41%, account takeovers at 40%, bonus or promotion abuse at 39%, and money-laundering and money mules at 39%.
Carol Chris, general manager for APAC at GBG, shared, “Our latest research paints a concerning picture of the fraud landscape in APAC. Businesses are not only facing a surge in fraud attempts, but these attacks are becoming more organised and complex due to technologies like generative AI.”
“It is imperative that collaboration across industries come to the fore to combat fraud, but we must first address the existing pain points. We urge businesses to move past competition and work together to outmanoeuvre fraudsters. This will not only protect organisations but also offer critical support to the fraud prevention professionals on the frontline,” Chris further explained.
