According to YouGov research that IDnow commissioned, a large number of British people are at risk from cybercrime, which has grown exponentially over the past year. Even though over half (45%) of the 2,264 respondents living in the UK knew that images or scans of identification documents may be obtained by scammers, they nevertheless sent them via email, social media, and messenger apps—all of which can be hacked by dishonest people.

Deepfakes and AI dangers

The public in the UK should be concerned about identity theft as a result of such activities, according to IDnow, especially in light of the development of deepfake technology. Deepfake technology now allows for the creation of phony papers that are incredibly lifelike thanks to advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI). Not to mention the vids. Less than a third (31%) of Britons, according to the survey, are aware of the dangers posed by digitally created images of real papers and are aware of what deepfake documents are.

Remarkably, 48% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 admitted to sharing identification documents through these dubious means. This contrasts with only 21 per cent of over-55s on CNN. These numbers suggest that there may be a need to properly inform the next generation about the risks associated with digital fraud.

"Many of us have seen the uncanny deepfake videos of celebrities that spread like wildfire across the internet, showing how easy it is to emulate the likeness of someone using AI," said Lovro Persen, director of document and fraud at IDnow. However, it's concerning to note that this research indicates that the people in the UK may not be as informed or concerned about the risks involved with these kinds of digitally produced photos or movies as they ought to be.

The incredible advancements in AI technology have made financial crime nearly too simple for a fraudster to commit. However, consumers shouldn't aid fraudsters in their efforts. We always advise against uploading a scan or picture of your passport or driver's license to the internet over unencrypted means like social media or email.

Is fraud your top concern?

Additionally, the survey found that the majority of British citizens are most concerned about banking fraud. An extra 37% of British people said that social media fraud is their biggest worry.

Because 54% of British people are not familiar with social engineering, which includes smishing and phishing, most people are still susceptible to scam efforts. One of the most common and difficult to detect fraud typologies is social engineering, in which con artists play on people's fears or mistrust to trick them into disclosing personal information or clicking on links that look legitimate.

A fifth of British people (21%) think that the most likely crime they will experience is someone hacking their social media account. In fact, the top security concern for people between the ages of 18 and 24 was social media, while the top fear for individuals in the other age groups was identity fraud allowing someone to access their bank account.

Therefore, 75% of Brits would be ready to go through a longer online onboarding process if it meant that accounts linked to higher funds or investments were safer.

"Our findings show that banks in the UK do not always go far enough to make their customers feel safe and secure," said Doug Pollock, vice president of customer success at IDnow. When it comes to fraud prevention technology, they must advance farther to satisfy the risk appetite of their clients, particularly when their money is involved. Because, as our research demonstrates, most customers (54%) would think about switching banks if they fell victim to fraud if banks made a mistake.

"We believe that these results demonstrate the significant effect that internet fraud still has on British citizens. We must all cooperate together—financial services, technology providers, government, law enforcement, and the public—to identify and stop fraudsters before it's too late since scammers operate across industries, geographies, and use cases.