LexisNexis Risk Solutions warns that the latest wave of AI-generated proof-of-life documents, images and videos could leave organizations highly exposed if their identity and customer onboarding controls fail to keep pace.
The global fraud prevention specialist claims to have seen a 180% year-on-year increase in attacks and warns that the quality and sophistication of deepfake documents and images are improving every day. With Juniper Research predicting that 100 billion identity-related checks will be performed this year and that one in every 100 failed checks will contain a deepfake, experts at LexisNexis Risk Solutions are warning businesses around the world to expect an increase in the volume of daily attacks targeting their digital services.
«Deepfakes greatly complicate digital identity verification. Protecting against this increase in attacks requires a robust line of defense that incorporates end-to-end capture, fraud analysis and proof-of-live checks,” said Oscar Flores, Fraud and Identity Consultant, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Even the smallest gap in your defenses is like an open window that a scammer can climb through.”
Use of unauthorized access to accounts
Malicious actors use deepfakes to bypass identity checks and create new accounts or take control of existing user accounts to make unauthorized payments, withdrawals and online purchases, launder the proceeds of crime, or abuse bonus incentives for new customers. One in 11 new account creations in 2025 was a fraud attack and nearly a fifth of all reported fraud involved unauthorized access to customer accounts, according to the company’s most recent Cybercrime Report.
As deepfakes become more realistic, identity checks must be able to detect nuanced flaws in document security features and closely examine facial expression and skin tone.
Flores continues: “Highly realistic deepfakes require forensic examination of hundreds of security features: document structure, image integrity, holograms, engraving and microtext. Deepfakes usually fail for several minor flaws, unlike physical fakes which fail for one major issue, but are not easy to detect with the naked eye during manual checks. The same goes for deepfake images and videos.
Reviews should evaluate micromovements in facial muscles, analyze light reflection, and detect image manipulation and injection tactics.
Analysis shows that fraudsters prefer high-value, reusable identity documents, including passports, driver’s licenses and national identification cards, with the most coveted documents being those issued by the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.
As deepfakes become more realistic, identity checks must closely examine facial expression and skin tone
Shane O’Sullivan, research analyst at Juniper Research, added: “As digital identity verification evolves, the fundamental requirements are shifting toward the technical ability to integrate multiple trust signals into a coherent system architecture. Effective solutions depend on coordinating document authentication, biometric proof-of-life detection, and real-time risk analysis within a single workflow. Increasingly, the success of fraud detection systems is defined by their ability to detect advanced threats such as synthetic identities and deepfakes, while maintaining interoperability between standards and minimizing latency and user friction.”
«The risk for companies is real both from a financial and reputational point of view. The reality is that AI-generated attacks practically double year after year and become more sophisticated with each attack,” Flores concludes.
Check out the full report on “How to unmask deepfakes and falsified documents with the power of AI” by LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
