Online fraud and identity theft: the emerging problem of cybercrime

The national digital ecosystem is currently trapped in the web of increasing cyber fraud that is infesting the entire society. The phenomenon of identity theft together with credit fraud have shown an increasing trend, creating significant obstacles in the strategic and security fields. These trends have received authoritative confirmation from Cyber Security 360, a renowned authority in the field of cyber security and online criminology.

The exponential growth of fraudulent credit

According to what was reported by the CRIF Observatory, a surge in credit fraud and identity theft has been highlighted. Surprisingly, scammers do not overlook even small amounts. In fact, there has been a 20% increase in fraud in the credit sector, particularly in the consumer sector. Data for 2022 show that the number of frauds in Italy has increased by 19.9%, exceeding 34,300 cases, with an overall value growing by 6.3%.

The modus operandi of online fraud

Online scams are often carried out following a fairly standard pattern: identity theft is perpetrated and stolen sensitive data is illegally used to obtain credit or purchase goods. Claudio Telmon, Senior Partner of Information & Cyber Security at P4I Partners4Innovation, commented on the situation: "The problem of consumer credit fraud is known, but still too little talk about it".

Towards digital identity mitigation strategies

Overall, in 2022, the scams caused an estimated damage of 132 million euros, a sharp increase compared to the previous year. The need to protect yourself from identity theft is therefore becoming more and more urgent. The first step in solving this problem is to implement mitigation strategies. It is emphasized that scammers often obtain crucial information directly from victims who unconsciously share it on social media. It is therefore essential to raise attention towards the protection of digital identity. However, users alone cannot avert such a pervasive and risky danger. A possible solution could be a regulatory intervention or, as Dr. Telmon suggests, the promotion of the National Index of Digital Homes (INAD). This could allow those who offer consumer credit to promptly notify customers of the activation of loans, thus reducing the detection times and the impact of incidents.