The ITRC's 2024 predictions point towards more discussions around AI and biometrics, no adoption of a federal privacy law, and an increase in ID crimes, as well as larger emotional tolls on victims
SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC), a nationally recognized nonprofit organization established to support victims of identity crimes and compromises, has released its 2024 predictions.
"In 2023, we saw cybercriminals rely on personal information gathered through compromises, phishing, and social engineering to open new accounts, take over non-financial accounts and impersonate individuals and government representatives," said Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "Cybercriminals gained control over existing accounts or opened new accounts 93 percent of the time when victims contacted the ITRC about credentials being misused.
We also saw romance scams and relationship scams turn into heart-breaking stories from victims who contacted us. The dollar losses around these scams were as high as we have ever seen them. Finally, we saw no action from Congress around a comprehensive privacy and data security law in 2023, while more data breach notices lacked the actionable information people and businesses needed to protect themselves.
As we look towards 2024, we expect to see much discussion around AI-driven identity scams," Velasquez continued. "We believe there will be new levels of identity crimes due to the record number of data breaches in 2023. With the increase in crimes, the emotional toll will continue to rise and assistance providers will struggle to help victims in this area. We also believe there will continue to be a movement for privacy laws but on the state level rather than the federal level. Regardless of what happens in 2024, we will help those who need it."
The ITRC's 2024 Predictions Include the Following:
1. The risk of AI-driven identity scams that impact large numbers of people will be overestimated, while the potential for targeted attacks on single or small groups of individuals will be underestimated. The greatest risk from generative AI will continue to be mis- and dis-information.
2. An unprecedented number of data breaches in 2023 by financially motivated and Nation/State threat actors will drive new levels of identity crimes in 2024, especially impersonation and synthetic identity fraud. That will, in turn, drive more adoption of biometric-based identity verification (not recognition) tools to prove people are who they claim to be.
3. More states will adopt comprehensive data privacy and security laws. Congress will not.
4. Privacy concerns over the use of biometrics will overshadow the legitimate use cases. Even though there are safe and ethical uses of biometrics in the authentication and verification space (provided they are consent-based and privacy-centric), lawmakers and the public will push back due to this lack of awareness and understanding.
5. The emotional toll of identity crimes will continue to increase, and assistance providers will struggle to meet the emotional recovery needs of victims. Identity crime victimization is too often classified as not creating trauma that requires support, despite the fact that our latest Consumer Impact Report notes that 16 percent of respondents contemplated suicide as a result of an identity crime.
DOWNLOAD THE ITRC'S 2024 PREDICTIONS
On Friday, December 15, tune into the ITRC's latest episode of The Fraudian Slip podcast, where we will break down our 2024 predictions. The podcast will include a discussion with ITRC President and CEO Eva Velasquez, ITRC COO James E. Lee, and James Ruotolo, Senior Director of Financial Services at SAS and an ITRC Board Member. Anyone can listen on the ITRC's website, idtheftcenter.org, under the "Help Center" tab.
Read a full recap of our 2023 predictions and how we fared, along with an in-depth look ahead to 2024 at idtheftcenter.org/identity-theft-resource-center-2024-predictions.
Anyone can receive free support and guidance from a knowledgeable live advisor by calling 888.400.5530 or visiting idtheftcenter.org to live chat.
About the Identity Theft Resource Center
Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center® (ITRC) is a national nonprofit organization established to empower and guide consumers, victims, business and government to minimize risk and mitigate the impact of identity compromise and crime. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its website live chat idtheftcenter.org and toll-free phone number 888.400.5530. The ITRC also equips consumers and businesses with information about recent data breaches through its data breach tracking tool, notified. The ITRC offers help to specific populations, including the deaf/hard of hearing and blind/low vision communities.
Identity Theft Resource Center
Alex Achten
Director of Communications & Media Relations
888.400.5530 Ext. 3611
[email protected]
SOURCE Identity Theft Resource Center
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