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Fake Account Prevention and Detection

Getting Real About Fake Accounts and Fraud

People create fake accounts for all kinds of reasons, from spreading misinformation on social media to scamming companies out of benefits intended for legitimate customers. Some of these schemes may seem relatively minor compared to other types of fraud, but their costs can be steep—especially when they’re part of a well-organized fraud scheme.

At Verosint, we’re on a mission to ferret out fake accounts within companies before they result in major financial consequences.
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-25%

Decline in PayPal stock value after its 2022 fake-account fraud disclosure


Source: Bloomberg.com
$81-97K

Loss per incident in financial services when someone creates a fake account  


Source: Fiverity.com
$152B

Amount of online consumer spending influenced by fake reviews


Source: World Economic Forum
How Fake Account Fraud Happens

How Does Fake Account Fraud Happen? Let Us Count the Ways

Fake accounts come in many forms and have a wide range of consequences. PayPal recently discovered 4.5 million fake accounts created by bot farms that fraudsters were using to automatically open accounts in response to marketing campaigns.

Meanwhile, at Wells Fargo, fraud was happening on the inside, in a scheme to generate millions of dollars in fees and interest by creating fake accounts. And a 2023 Associated Press report described fraudsters creating accounts with falsified credentials to collect billions in Covid-19 relief money from the federal government.
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The Impact of Fake Account Fraud

Stealing a Little Cash? The Tip of the Iceberg of Consequences

It’s clear from the examples above that the financial cost of fake accounts goes far beyond fraudsters stealing cash meant for legitimate account signups.

The costs also extend to:

Extra operational resources required to maintain fake accounts
Overtaxed security personnel scrambling to identify and investigate fake accounts
Misguided sales and marketing strategies based on falsely inflated customer numbers
Brand damage from misinformation or fake reviews that can lead to losing loyal customers
Loss of customers who shop elsewhere when bots drive up demand for certain products
Financial fraud, such as taking out loans or filing medical benefits using fake accounts
Compromised online platform security, including theft of assets on gambling and gaming sites and apps
Fraudsters with fake accounts probing for vulnerabilities in real accounts

When Fake Accounts Hit, Verosint Hits Back

Verosint is equipped to detect fake accounts that are already lurking in existing customer bases as well as to prevent future fake accounts from being created.
We analyze and assess all of a company’s accounts for risk, correlate account information to identify fake accounts, and target illegitimate accounts for removal.
We stop future fraud at the point of login, working with partners in identity and access management (IAM) to challenge and block fraudulent registrations.
The same methods and technologies that allow you to repel fake accounts also make it easy for you to onboard new customers. When there are signs of fake-account fraud, challenges follow; when there are not, you can quickly onboard new customers with confidence.
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