Part of the fraud trends for the future series

Fraudsters seek new ways to exploit private information. Cybercrime and fraud prevention is an evolving field based on varied tactics used by fraudsters. In order to be prepared to mitigate fraud risks, you must understand the current fraud trends.
The initial segment of this series focused on fraud trends that have been identified for 2023 and beyond. Broadly, these trends include: • Automation • Account Takeover • Adoption of new digital payment methods • Balancing fraud and consumer friction • Rise of synthetic identities • Escalating cost of fraud • Targeted attacks • Strong need for real-time assessment • Need for multi-layered fraud assessment. • Account security
In the initial segment we evaluated areas of automation and machine learning fraud. Subsequent sessions looked at account takeover and digital payments. This session will be segregated into two parts: • Fraud trends for the future - Understanding synthetic identities. • Fraud trends for the future – Tools and techniques to mitigated synthetic identity fraud
Synthetic identity fraud is a type of financial crime where a fraudster creates a fake identity using a combination of real and fake personal information. The fake identity is used to apply for credit, open bank accounts, or make purchases etc. This fraud is difficult to detect because the fraudster is using a combination of real and fake information. It becomes harder for institutions to catch the fraud and it may be more difficult for law enforcement to track the fraudsters.
Field of Study: Information Technology

Lynn Fountain has over 45 years of experience spanning public accounting, corporate accounting and consulting. 24 years of her experience has been working in the areas of internal and external auditing. She is a subject matter expert in multiple fields including internal audit, ethics, fraud evaluations, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, governance, financial management and compliance. Ms. Fountain has held two Chief Audit Executive positions for international companies. In 2011, as the Chief Audit Executive for an international construction/ engineering firm, she was involved in the active investigation of a joint venture fraud. The investigation included work with the FBI and ultimately led to indictment of the perpetrators and recovery of $13M. Ms. Fountain is currently engaged in her own training and consulting business and is a regular trainer for the AICPA. Ms. Fountain is the author of three separate technical books. “Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditors Guide to Fraud Evaluations” was published by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. -“Leading The Internal Audit Function” and -“Ethics and The Internal Auditor Political Dilemma” were published by Taylor & Francis In addition Ms. Fountain was a contributing author to the certification program exam for the National Association of Accountants. She also has certificate programs on various on-line platforms. Ms. Fountain has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and developed the first internal audit curriculum for the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CGMA, CRMA credentials and CPA certificate (non-active).