The accelerating convergence of advanced synthetic media tools, widespread crime-as-a-service (CaaS) platforms, and increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics has pushed ID verification systems to a breaking point.
CaaS networks drive surge in ID verification attacks
This stark reality forms the core message of iProov’s newly released Threat Intelligence Report 2025, which tracks and analyses global attack trends targeting organisations that rely on digital ID verification to secure critical transactions and systems.
Historically, identity fraud and synthetic identity creation required considerable technical skill.
The report highlights a seismic shift: advanced fraud tools once reserved for elite threat actors are now available for purchase in online marketplaces, allowing virtually anyone to mount complex attacks with minimal effort.
The proliferation of Native Virtual Camera Attacks – where attackers inject fake biometric data directly into verification systems – exemplifies this trend.
iProov observed a staggering 2,665% increase in these attacks, fuelled in part by the infiltration of malicious apps into mainstream app stores.
Fraudsters can now download tools capable of bypassing many traditional liveness detection protocols, significantly reducing the technical barrier to entry.
Threat Actors Target Liveness Detection
While deepfakes have dominated headlines in recent years, the data reveals a more immediate threat: Face Swap Attacks have surged by 300% since 2023.
These attacks exploit systems using outdated or poorly implemented liveness detection mechanisms – fooling facial recognition systems into accepting an attacker’s face as the legitimate account holder.
Threat actors have also refined their strategies, combining multiple techniques into elaborate, multi-vector campaigns.
By embedding synthetic identities into corporate systems – often through compromised remote onboarding processes – they lay the groundwork for long-term fraud campaigns that may go undetected for months.
CaaS Ecosystem Expands
The growth of crime-as-a-service platforms has turbocharged this threat landscape.
According to the report, nearly 24,000 users are now actively engaged in selling attack tools or services, from ready-to-use deepfake generators to subscription-based injection attack platforms.
This marketplace dynamic creates a thriving feedback loop, where successful techniques are rapidly shared and commercialised across criminal networks.
New Synthetic Identity Techniques
In addition to Face Swaps, the report highlights the emergence of image-to-video conversion attacks, a two-step process where static images are transformed into realistic video sequences.
This new attack vector poses a direct threat to any ID verification system relying on facial motion analysis or challenge-response protocols.
Because these synthetic videos lack the visual artifacts traditionally associated with tampering, they can evade detection by older liveness solutions.
Static Defences Can’t Keep Up with Adaptive Attacks
The report underscores a fundamental mismatch between rapidly evolving threats and the static security frameworks still in place at many organisations.
Static, point-in-time security checks – once the backbone of digital identity verification – are increasingly inadequate against adaptive, real-time attacks.
In fact, consumer research revealed that just 0.1% of individuals could reliably distinguish deepfakes from authentic content, underscoring the scale of human vulnerability.
Financial Stakes Escalate
The financial toll of identity fraud continues to climb, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting over $10 billion in identity theft losses in 2023 alone.
For corporations, settlement costs from breaches regularly exceed $350 million per incident, creating direct financial and reputational risks.
Beyond these headline figures lies a less visible – but equally damaging – cost: the operational and investigative burden of identifying and unwinding synthetic identity schemes embedded deep within corporate ecosystems.
The Threat Intelligence Report 2025 makes clear that identity security is no longer just a compliance issue – it’s a business-critical imperative.
With over 115,000 potential attack combinations now identified, static defences are effectively obsolete.
Organisations that fail to evolve will not only suffer higher fraud losses but may also find themselves losing customer trust, regulatory approval and competitive standing.
“Relying on outdated security measures is like leaving the front door open to fraudsters,” comments Dr. Andrew Newell, iProov’s Chief Scientific Officer.
“The future of identity security will belong to those who embrace adaptive, intelligence-driven defences capable of keeping pace with the relentless innovation of the criminal underworld.”
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