2021 saw the world settling into a new normal with heightened expectations of digital experiences. But European fraud and financial crime have continued to evolve. As we move forward into 2022, we are seeing the first signs of some interesting trends that will pick up pace across borders. Whether they are seen as challenges or opportunities, they are worth watching to avoid another disruptive year.
1. More Vaccine-Related Scams
Vaccine passports and certificates are now in use as proof of vaccination when travelling or attending certain events and venues. But we can’t ignore the backlash from anti-vaccination groups. Despite their views, many still want to travel and attend those events that require proof of vaccination. As such, we’ve seen a slow emergence of a black market for the sale of fake vaccine passports and it is on its way to becoming a lucrative industry in 2022.
Related scams have also been on the rise. In the UK, Action Fraud reported several hundreds of cases of people receiving emails claiming to be from the NHS, offering them a vaccine passport, prompting them to click on a link and input their personal and financial details. We believe this is one of the many scams that will consistently hit the headlines in 2022.
2. Accessibility of Deep Fake Technologies
We’ve seen a steady rise in fake videos and audio with targeted content that manipulates and gains access to…
