By Ricardo Amper
The digital revolution has reshaped industries and everyday life, unlocking unprecedented opportunities. Yet, beneath its promise lies a growing menace: critical vulnerabilities that threaten the very systems we rely on. When systems falter—from financial networks that underpin economies to public services essential to daily activities—the resulting chaos ripples across societies, disrupting businesses, eroding trust, and endangering livelihoods.
Enter “Fraud as a Service” (FaaS), a sinister twist on the “Software as a Service” (SaaS) model that has revolutionized legitimate industries. Fueled by deepfake technology and scalable tools, FaaS has proliferated on the dark web, evolving
into accessible and affordable platforms. These platforms target and exploit our digital lifelines, amplifying fraud to an unprecedented heights.
Cybercriminals no longer need sophisticated tools or advanced technical expertise to execute disruptive illegal activities. The barriers to accessing AI and deepfake devices have virtually disappeared—they are now just a few clicks away.
Multiple reports reveal an alarming surge in fraudulent incidents within the fintech industry, with increases of several hundred percent in 2023, highlighting the growing scale and accessibility of these schemes.
FaaS platforms offer generative AI-powered fraud services through subscription like models, enabling even non-technical users to deploy realistic voice, video, and image manipulations. For as little as $20, anyone can impersonate executives, forge identities, or create convincing videos to bypass security protocols.
This isn’t just fraud—it’s fraud at an industrial scale. A single individual can now target thousands of employees simultaneously. In short, welcome to the democratization of fraud.
Fighting Back in the New Digital Age
Despite the bleak outlook, the battle against fraud in this digital era is far from hopeless. While traditional security systems—such as passwords, knowledge based authentication, and basic biometric checks—are proving increasingly inadequate, multi-layered approaches are emerging as robust solutions to these growing threats and problems.
Fraudsters can exploit outdated technologies to bypass identity checks that rely solely on static images or voice recordings. However, innovative solutions, such as advanced biometric technologies paired with comprehensive fraud detection systems, are rendering such practices ineffective.
At Incode, the company I co-founded nearly a decade ago, we developed a wide-ranging variety of tools that not only verify identities but also actively distinguish between genuine and fraudulent users, eliminating digital vulnerabilities at their source.
Some of the key solutions we offer to prevent and detect fraudulent activities include:
- Advanced Personhood Detection: Real-time liveness detection, facial recognition, and document verification ensure that only authorized individuals gain access to digital networks.
- Streamlined Integration: A frictionless setup within existing technology stacks accelerates deployment and enhances verification for sensitive interactions.
- Continuous Identity Monitoring: AI-driven monitoring tracks and highlights suspicious identity signals across interactions, enabling proactive defenses against generative AI threats.
These technologies allow organizations to build a robust ecosystem capable of combating the evolving tactics of fraudsters, securing digital systems, and restoring trust in the digital age.
The once-reliable multi-factor authentication (MFA) system, a cornerstone of modern security, is increasingly inadequate against sophisticated attacks. AI has significantly undermined its effectiveness; by mimicking vocal patterns or generating lifelike images, attackers can easily bypass MFA, making social engineering attacks more prevalent than ever. Meanwhile, physical identification methods, such as ID documents, are equally vulnerable to digital manipulation.
In short, most traditional security systems are no match for the new capabilities of generative AI.
To combat these advanced threats, Incode’s cutting-edge technology provides the robust solutions organizations are seeking to safeguard their operations. Our tools address these vulnerabilities head-on, offering reliable protection against the costly, disruptive consequences of AI-driven fraud.
Financial Sector: A Canary in the Coal Mine
Banks and financial institutions are on the frontlines of this battle. In 2024, a Hong Kong firm lost $25 million after an employee fell victim to a deepfake video impersonating their CFO. This was not an isolated incident; many such cases remain unreported. Generative AI’s ability to produce hyper-realistic content has made it an ideal weapon for fraudsters.
According to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, AI-enabled fraud losses are projected to grow to $40 billion in 2027, from $12.3 billion in 2023 –or more than quadruple its estimated current cost. The financial sector’s reliance on identity verification, trust, and authenticity makes it uniquely vulnerable to such threats, necessitating a robust response.
Incode Workforce: Protecting Organizations at Scale
Our Incode Workforce platform exemplifies a multi-layered approach. Designed to secure access at every stage of the employee lifecycle, it enhances Identity Access Management Systems (IAM), integrating advanced personhood detection, seamless biometric verification, and fraud detection. Whether onboarding remote employees or safeguarding sensitive operations, Incode Workforce ensures that only verified, living individuals interact with your business systems and assets.
In partnership with Okta, the leading independent Identity partner that frees everyone to safely use any technology, we’ve even extended our capabilities to enable organizations to securely verify the “real world identity” of who they’re interacting with.
The Incode-Okta Workforce Identity integration strengthens security for high-risk scenarios such as:
- Identity Verification at MFA Enrollment: . Enabling identity proofing for all employees before MFA enrollment.
- Help Desk and Account Recovery: Minimize social engineering risks by automating identity validation and reducing support tickets.
- Step-Up Verification for Critical Workflows: Secure high-value transactions through our biometric verification, protect sensitive data access, and more.
“As a security practitioner, I see Incode’s partnership with Okta as a pivotal step in addressing emerging threats like AI-driven fraud. The combination of biometric verification with robust IAM capabilities ensures a higher standard of security for enterprises navigating today’s complex risk landscape,” said Mukund Sarma, Security Lead at Chime.
Keeping Pace: Accelerating Fraud Prevention
As FaaS continues to evolve, fraud is advancing at an unprecedented pace. Defenses must keep up. By investing in advanced biometric systems and adopting proactive, multi-layered defense strategies, organizations can stay ahead of these escalating challenges.
Incode’s recognition as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Identity Verification highlights our commitment to innovation and excellence in addressing these critical issues. This achievement reflects our technological leadership and validates our focus on building trust through cutting-edge solutions.
Being named a Leader underscores the strength of our robust, scalable, and user-friendly solutions to combat AI-driven fraud. It reaffirms our belief that organizations can achieve top-tier security without compromising agility or customer experience.
At Incode, our mission is to empower businesses with the tools to not only defend against today’s threats but also anticipate tomorrow’s challenges. With industry-leading solutions and an unwavering commitment to trust, we’re ensuring the digital world remains a secure and reliable foundation for global progress.
Ricardo Amper is the CEO of ID verification and fraud prevention company Incode
