Cyber Crime Month: Cyber Crime Drives Massive UK Growth For Id Verification Provider Idnow

Security , Cybersecurity
10.11.2021 12:30 pm

Identity platform grew eightfold in the UK compared to previous year, continues to see increasing demand for its solutions.

As cyber crime soars, IDnow, a leading platform-as-a-service ID Verification provider, has grown eightfold year-over-year in the UK market.

IDnow’s UK growth is aligned with the global demand for its solutions. The firm is seeing substantial interest across the world, with more and more companies deciding to switch to fully digital application processes.

IDnow has released key findings from its latest research Report* “Trend Report: Identity Fraud 2021”. These include:

According to a report produced by Cybersecurity Ventures, the latest predictions show the damage caused by internet fraud will amount to $6 trillion in 2021. The global Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation massively in every industry accompanied by a drastic increase in fraud.
Between March and June last year – when many countries ordered a lockdown to “flatten the curve” of the pandemic – IDnow noticed a significant increase in different types of identity fraud attempts. Similarity Fraud increased by 231 percent, Fake ID Fraud increased by 180 percent, and Social Engineering (comprising, for example, fake job offers to encourage the applicant to open a bank account) – already one of the most dangerous fraud methods – increased by 75 percent.
Financial crime is a severe threat, estimated by the UN at $800 billion to $2 trillion worldwide per year.
According to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), individual organisations recorded a 40 percent increase in attempted cyberattacks within a week of the first lockdown.

IDnow is now concentrating on sharpening its technology and further scaling up its UK team as the rising demand for KYC (Know Your Customer) solutions across various industries in the UK grows. IDnow has established two locations since its entry into the UK market in 2019: the UK headquarters in London, and an office in Manchester.

IDnow has expanded its role far beyond offering specific identity verification products and has become an overarching platform for digital identities with several million transactions per year, used by over 900 customers worldwide.

In 2021, IDnow acquired the French market leader for identity technology, ARIADNEXT, and the German based company, identity Trust Management AG. Together the group is able to offer its customers one of the broadest identification solutions through a single, integrated platform.

The way identity verification is carried out in Europe has also changed drastically in recent years. Newly introduced or adapted regulations and increased user expectations for a smooth onboarding experience of digital products have tightened the market conditions for companies. Only those who offer secure, seamless and regulation-compliant identity verification as part of their user journey will win new users and exclude fraudsters, while entering new markets with different use cases and legal requirements.

Andreas Bodczek, CEO of IDnow, comments: “We’re seeing a significant rise in demand for our services from the UK market this year. The pandemic pushed many industries into accelerating their digitisation, and as part of that, consumers now expect a much quicker and fully digital onboarding process. The knock-on effect of that has been an increase in cybercrime making security more important than ever and meaning businesses have a heightened focus on delivering a safe and secure process for customers.”