A new report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has revealed a substantial increase in the prevalence of ransomware attacks in the first half of 2021.

Section 6206 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) of 2020 requires FinCEN to periodically publish analytical reports based on the suspicious activity reports (SARs) filed by financial institutions. The January 2021 to June 2021 edition of the report was the first issued by FinCEN under the agreement.  

Substantially more ransomware-related SARs filed in 2021

The report found that the number of ransomware-related SARs filed monthly has grown rapidly, with 635 SARs filed and 458 transactions reported between 1 January 2021 and 30 June 2021. This is an increase of 30% from the total of 487 SARs filed for the entire 2020 calendar year.

The report also found that the total value of suspicious activity reported in ransomware-related SARs during the first six months of 2021 was $590 million. This exceeds the value reported for the entirety of 2020 ($416 million).

Overall, bitcoin was the most common ransomware-related payment method in reported transactions, but the use of anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies (AECs) is also rising. However, privacy coin Monero was noted in only 17 SARs, and cryptocurrency mixers were only reported in approximately 1% of ransomware transactions.

In addition to this, the report also found that:

68 ransomware variants were reported in the SAR data, with the most common variants including REvil/Sodinokibi, Conti, DarkSide, Avaddon, and Phobos

Wallets associated with the 10 variants examined by the report sent BTC valued at $5.2 billion to known entities, either directly or indirectly

A handful of digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) firms accounted for 63% of SARs filed in the first-half of 2021

Victims typically communicated with the threat actors via The Onion Router (Tor), encrypted email, non-encrypted email, and unidentified web portals provided by the attackers

Common money laundering typologies attributed to ransomware variants

By analyzing ransomware-related SARs, conducting blockchain analysis, and leveraging industry observations, FinCEN identified at least six money laundering typologies that were common among ransomware variants in 2021. These were:

Threat actors are increasingly requesting payment in AECs

Threat actors are avoiding reusing wallet addresses

Centralized convertible virtual currency (CVC) exchanges have become preferred cash-out points

‘Chain hopping’ is used to obfuscate financial trails on blockchains

Decentralized exchanges are likely used to convert illicit proceeds

Over the past year, the issue of ransomware has continued to draw significant attention from enforcement agencies, law makers, and political appointees. As a result, the pressure is now mounting on regulators and law enforcement agencies to take meaningful enforcement action against businesses and service providers that do not comply with recent AML/CFT legislation.

Thankfully, our AI-powered identity verification and KYC solution will help you prevent fraud, guarantee compliance, increase conversions and ensure that you always know who your customers are.

With our identity verification platform, you can welcome honest customers and lock out fraudsters. Our platform is easy to integrate and gives you compliance in a couple of clicks. To learn more, talk to us today. 

A new report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, looking at suspicious activity reports from financial institutions, has revealed growth in ransomware attacks in 2021 - read our blog to discover more.

A new report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, looking at suspicious activity reports from financial institutions, has revealed growth in ransomware attacks in 2021 - read below to discover more.

A blog looking at the report from FinCEN showing an increase in ransomware attacks in 2021.

FinCEN’s ransomware report reveals analysis of SAR data

To ring in 2022, Veriff is gifting our 2021 Fraud Report to share our findings and observations in the world of online identity fraud over the last year. Our trusted research team has taken the time to break down our proprietary fraud data by type – document fraud, identity fraud, technical fraud, and recurring fraud – to help provide context into some of the results and key trends we’ve drawn from our analysis of the year. 

As the business world continues to evolve digitally — with COVID-19 continuing to put a strain on the globe, crypto gaining speed, and e-commerce booming — understanding the global state of fraud is important to Veriff and vital to creating a more secure space online. The fraud report is one way for Veriff to better understand the global fraud landscape, and to help our partners better understand how we can help their business. 

Identity fraud makes up close to two-thirds of all fraud incidents globally and has doubled compared to 2020

Fintech saw a 50% increase in fraudulent activity compared to the year before

Crypto’s net fraud rate is 7.44% and remains the most fraudulent industry compared to fintech and mobility

Global fraud has increased in the U.S. & Europe, with Europe seeing its fraud rate double from 2020

“Through the urgency to digitize over the past 18 months, businesses and consumers alike have increased online transactions and activity. However, this increase in activity shouldn’t equate to more risk and identity fraud. Yet, our report findings clearly show that financially motivated cybercriminals are not slowing down,” said Janer Gorohhov, CPO and co-founder of Veriff. 

“Concepts like AI-based video editing and augmented video processing are not just buzzwords anymore. Users online can access plug-and-play products that enable them to use the power of deep learning and advanced AI to mask, anonymise, and alter images and videos. Therefore, there’s a growing need for solutions like Veriff’s technology that can catch deepfakes.”

If you’re interested in taking a more in-depth look at fraud trends from 2021, as well as have a better understanding of the global state of fraud, download Veriff’s 2021 Identity Fraud Report here. 

It's December, which can only mean one thing - Veriff's 2021 Fraud Report is here! Read the insights from an extensive analysis of 11 months of verifications. Is fraud rising? Which industry saw the biggest growth? What's the global picture? Download it today to find out!

Download our 2021 Fraud Report

A blog announcing Veriff's 2021 Identity Fraud Report, detailing a few key insights, and letting you know where you can download it now.

Veriff’s 2021 Fraud Report is Now Live!

As e-commerce booms amid COVID-19, age verification is incredibly important to keep several industries safe. Online gambling, alcohol delivery, ride sharing, and online dating are just a sampling of the industries that rely on age verification to comply with US, European and UK regulators and maintain their brand’s integrity. 

Veriff’s age validation solution enables businesses to seamlessly confirm whether or not customers are above a minimum age threshold and thus eligible to purchase or use the business’ products. This ensures that only authorized users or customers are accessing age-gated content and products, preventing liabilities and fraud. Additionally, Veriff confirms the liveness and realness of all IDs, with over 12,000 supported documents, allowing for global companies to continue doing business with customers around the world. All of these processes allow for seamless customer experiences, and keep businesses safe. 

Veriff provides the best tools to support seamless age verification and help increase customer conversions. Veriff does this by employing:

Automated biometrics-based identity verification

Ongoing authentication with Biometric Authentication

Global reach, covering 12,000+ documents and 48 languages 

Intuitive user flow that prevents synthetic and identity theft 

Protection against velocity and campaign abuse 

“Age verification has become even more important than before, if that is possible,” said Ibrahim Al-Taie, Product Marketing Manager at Veriff. “With the e-commerce markets exploding, and more and more business being done online, having reliable and accurate age verification is vital for businesses to stay in the good graces of regulators, protect customers, and to keep their reputation positive.” 

To learn more about Veriff’s new offering, please visit us here. 

As e-commerce booms amid COVID-19, age verification is incredibly important to keep several industries safe. Online gambling, alcohol delivery, ride sharing, and online dating apps are just a sampling of the industries that rely on age verification. Learn how Veriff can help you with age verification in our blog. 

Veriff's Age Verification is vital to ensuring the safety of businesses and customers around the world. 

A blog looking at how Veriff's products can offer excellent age verification for any company who needs to know their clients are old enough to access their services.

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