Mitek Systems has released new research developed in partnership with Datos Insights, a financial services research and advisory firm, warning that synthetic identity fraud is rapidly becoming one of the most consequential systemic threats to financial institutions.
The research draws on survey data from North American fraud executives, as well as interviews with fraud prevention leaders. It finds that the convergence of generative AI, organised fraud rings, and increasingly scalable synthetic identity creation is fundamentally reshaping the fraud risk landscape.
Fraud losses tied to synthetic identities in US unsecured credit reached approximately $2.94bn in 2025, up from $1.8bn in 2020. The research also notes that this figure captures only a portion of the true cost, as synthetic identities are increasingly being deployed to enable downstream fraud across deposit accounts, cheques and money mule activity.
Among the headline findings, 84% of fraud executives surveyed identified synthetic identity fraud as a high or moderate risk to their application processes. The problem is also growing at pace, with a baseline annual expansion rate of approximately 16%, driven by low-cost access to stolen or fabricated identity data and rising fraudster efficiency.
Generative AI is a critical accelerant: 40% of financial institutions are already witnessing higher attack rates linked to AI, with most anticipating further growth. Meanwhile, 55% of fraud executives reported continued increases in first-party cheque fraud losses in 2025, pointing to the persistence of that particular channel.
The research highlights a structural shift in how fraud is being executed across the financial ecosystem. Rather than isolated, one-off incidents, synthetic identities are increasingly being used to build long-term fraudulent account relationships that can be exploited across multiple products and channels over an extended period. The report argues that this trajectory poses compounding financial and operational risks for institutions that continue to rely on fragmented fraud detection approaches, and that modern identity assurance strategies must be capable of detecting risk earlier, adapting more rapidly, and disrupting coordinated attacks before losses accumulate.
Mitek Systems provides digital identity solutions focused on identity verification and fraud prevention, serving financial institutions seeking to counter evolving threats including synthetic identity creation and AI-assisted fraud. Datos Insights is an advisory and research firm specialising in the financial services sector, covering areas including fraud prevention, payments and insurance technology.
The research also calls attention to the growing pressure on institutions to modernise at the point of enrolment, rather than relying on fragmented detection after accounts have already been established. Behavioural analysis and lifecycle monitoring are identified as increasingly essential components of a credible fraud prevention strategy, given how effectively synthetic identities can mimic legitimate customer behaviour across extended periods.
Mitek chief operating officer Garrett Gafke said, 'These findings reinforce what fraud and risk teams are already seeing firsthand: synthetic identity fraud has become an industrialised threat. AI-enabled tactics, organized criminal operations, and scalable identity manipulation are changing the economics of fraud. Financial institutions need identity authentication and fraud prevention strategies that can detect risk earlier, adapt faster, and disrupt coordinated attacks before losses compound.'
Datos Insights strategic advisor Trace Fooshée said, 'Synthetic identity fraud is a strategic control point for financial institutions because it increasingly serves as the foundation for a wide range of downstream fraud activity. As generative AI lowers the cost and difficulty of creating convincing synthetic identities, institutions are being forced to rethink how they approach identity verification at enrollment. Organizations that invest early in modern verification, behavioral analysis, and lifecycle monitoring capabilities will be significantly better positioned to disrupt fraud before it scales across the broader financial ecosystem.'