Inscribe's 2023 Document Fraud Report Reveals Dramatic Rise in Fake Documents Being Purchased Online

New findings from Inscribe show that the most commonly manipulated documents include tax forms and bank statements from top financial institutions

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Inscribe, the leader in AI-powered document fraud detection, today released its 2023 Document Fraud Report, which examines global document fraud trends and tactics affecting fintechs and financial services companies. This year's report revealed a 3x increase in document templates (fraudulent documents purchased online) detected in 2022. Report findings also show that first-party fraud is prevalent: 50 percent of fraudulent SMB loan application documents matched the pattern of first-party fraud rather than third-party fraud in 2022, and over 30 percent of fraudulent personal loan application documents matched the pattern of first-party fraud. Because these applicants are using their real identities (but inflating their income and creditworthiness), this type of fraud is difficult to detect.

"The availability of fake document generators and 'novelty' document sellers online—combined with the widespread use of sophisticated image-editing software like Adobe Photoshop—have made document fraud easier than ever to accomplish, and also more difficult to catch," said Inscribe CEO and co-founder Ronan Burke. "But that's not all: Social media platforms like Reddit, Telegram, and TikTok have made it easier for fraudsters to sell document templates and share forgery techniques. This almost effortless access to fraud-as-a-service makes it easy to understand how the number of document templates detected by Inscribe tripled in 2022."

Less than 10 percent of document fraud is visible to the human eye. Many adjustments to names, account numbers, balances, and transactions simply can't be seen. As a result, countless cases of fraud and credit abuse go undetected. Inscribe processes millions of documents every month and analyzed data across its global customer base to compile these trends. Other key takeaways from Inscribe's 2023 Document Fraud Report include:

• First-party fraud is just as prevalent as third-party fraud. 12 percent of fraudulent documents have only the identity details edited (a sign of third-party fraud), while 42 percent have only financial details edited (a sign of first-party fraud). And 46 percent of fraudulent documents show alterations to both identity and financial details.
  
  
• Fake documents are easier than ever to acquire. Document templates (counterfeit, fake, or forged documents purchased online) have become an increasingly popular tool for fraudsters, with 2022 seeing a 3x increase in unique document templates detected.
  
  
• The most frequently manipulated documents include tax forms, business filings and bank statements. Specifically, W-2s and CP-575s, along with bank statements from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, TD Bank, PNC, and Navy Federal Credit Union.

Fraud is a tax on economic progress, with the cost often being passed down to consumers. Inscribe is dedicated to helping companies outsmart fraudsters with AI. The venture-backed company, which raised $25M in Series B funding earlier this year, has an experienced team of data scientists and engineers who operate like investigators and use the latest advancements in AI technology to unlock invisible document fraud signals. Because Inscribe was first in the document fraud space and has spent years working with such a wide range of customers, it has the largest document network in the industry.

Download the full 2023 Document Fraud Report here. For more information on Inscribe, please visit our website.

About Inscribe

Inscribe helps companies fight document fraud with award-winning AI technology. By automating manual reviews, Inscribe customers can reduce fraud and credit losses while increasing customer win rates and employee efficiency, as well as protect their reputation. Founded in 2017, Inscribe is trusted by leading fintechs like TripActions, Plaid, Bluevine, and Ramp. Inscribe is backed by Threshold Ventures, Uncork Capital, Y Combinator, Crosslink Capital, and Foundry, and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Learn more at inscribe.ai.

SOURCE Inscribe