How Fraudsters Are Persuading Young People to Sell Their Identity Data

‘Most won’t realize that what they’re doing is potentially criminal,’ an expert said.

An undated file photograph illustrating a cyber scam. Nongasimo/Shutterstock

Identity fraud has surged in recent years, with industrial-scale cyber scams being perpetrated against millions of individuals in the United States and other parts of the West.

Most of the data used to carry out the scams are stolen by hackers from banks and other institutions, but there is now an indication that some young people, unaware of the long-term risks, are willingly selling their data to cyber criminals.

Last month, Cifas, a fraud prevention service in the UK, published its latest update, which highlighted the issue of young people selling their data.

Cifas Director of Policy, Strategy and Communications Simon Miller told The Epoch Times that the nonprofit had noticed a big increase in “muling,” a practice in which an individual allows their bank accounts to be used to transfer the proceeds of crime or launder money.

“What we’ve noticed is that muling is evolving and changing, in response to regulatory and policy initiatives,” Miller said. “Increasingly, people are being recruited to launder money from their accounts, young people particularly, approached to sell elements of personal data, which is then used either as a basis for criminals to open accounts in their names or [for the] creation of synthetic data identities.”

Lure of ‘Easy Money’

Miller said young people often think it is easy money.

“People fall into traps; there’s a lot of peer pressure with these things, most won’t realize that what they’re doing is potentially criminal,” he said.

Miller said the affected individuals were overwhelmingly of student age.

“So, old enough to have access to financial products, which obviously makes them attractive, but young enough to be, in most cases, unaware of [the] consequences of what they’re doing or have done, and the long-term impacts of having sold elements of their data or their identity,” he said.

He added that this is a new trend Cifas had noticed, and the problem isn’t confined to the UK.

“If people are being approached and targeted online in the UK, you can guarantee it will be happening in the U.S. as well, and probably also Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries, and a little later down the curve in other European nations as well,” he said.

Mary Ann Miller, a fraud and cybercrime executive adviser with Prove, told The Epoch Times she was already aware of people selling their data in the United States.

“Absolutely, it’s a thing in the U.S.,” she said. “People are allowing their own identity to be used. However, it’s much more scalable if you use others’ identities.”

Mary Ann Miller, no relation to Simon Miller, said the idea of easy money often appeals to people, especially students or those who may be financially struggling. She added that a culture of fraud had developed in the United States, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s a slippery slope for individuals who think that they can get involved in this,” she said.

John Wilson, a senior fellow in threat research with cybersecurity firm Fortra, told The Epoch Times he believed there were a lot of desperate people who would consider selling their identity.

“A lot of people are like, ‘Well, my credit score sucks, so what if they get my information?’ But someday you might want to buy a house, you might want to get a new apartment, you might want to get a credit card, and then it’s going to become a problem,” he said.

“The extent of their financial experience is they’ve got Cash App or Venmo. So, I think a lot of them think: ‘What’s the harm? My information is already out there, right? It’s already been in a thousand data breaches. I might as well get a few dollars for it.’”

‘Monsters’ on Gaming Platforms

Mary Ann Miller said people, particularly neurodivergent people, are being approached on gaming platforms, starting with a general conversation, and then progressing to recruiting them for acts of fraud or cyber theft.

“These monsters are in Telegram channels, they’re [directly messaging] on gaming platforms, they’re very active on platforms like Meta, and [are shifting their targets] to WhatsApp to start having conversations. Young people are so used to contacting their genuine friends on gaming platforms that they get confused,” she said.

“They act friendly, and they draw an individual into this world of fraud and becoming a mule.”

Mary Ann Miller said that because banks had increasingly encouraged people to switch over to online banking or use banking apps, it was incumbent on them to “modernize their identity-proofing processes” to validate whether someone is genuine.

“Back in the old days, the banker knew your first name when you walked in the door. That’s not generally the case now,” she said.

On Sept. 18, the U.S. House Financial Services Committee held a special hearing to discuss fraud and scams.

Giving evidence to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Paul Benda, executive vice president of risk, fraud and cybersecurity for the American Bankers Association (ABA), said, “It is clear that fraud is a huge problem that is growing bigger every year and yet there is no central reporting mechanism, no data source that can accurately track the total amount of fraud being experienced, and no single government entity responsible for protecting Americans from the massive thefts of wealth that are taking place on a daily basis.”

Some scams involve fraudsters using AI voice cloning tools to impersonate victims' family or friends. An illustration shows a smartphone recording in front of a voice cloning screen in Los Angeles on June 9, 2023. Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images

The criminals cannot be stopped by banks alone, he said.

He told the committee that a variety of scams were on the increase, including voice phishing, but said the ABA believed most data used in identity fraud were stolen or tricked out of people.

Job Scams

Wilson said one of the biggest fraud schemes around at the moment involved employment scams.

He said that people are messaged through social media or a gaming platform and are told they can work from home and make good money.

“One of the things they always mention in the ad is that you must be at least 27 or 28 years old,” Wilson said. “Eventually, you’re going to have to prove that you’re that age, so upload a picture of your driver’s license. But also, the reason they’re doing this is to steal your identity. They don’t want somebody with no credit history. They want somebody who’s established a little bit of credit.”

Policemen talk to suspects in light green shirts at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 22, 2023. Thailand Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau via AP

Wilson said victims of job scams think they’re taking an online job.

“I would say they’re not so much willingly selling their data as much as they’re being duped into selling that data,” he said.

Simon Miller said the majority of cyber fraud had international dimensions.

“There are vast city-sized scam farms, scam factories in Southeast Asia, particularly in Myanmar near the border with Thailand,” he said.

“When we’re talking about the sale of identity, or elements of someone’s identity ... it is likely being coordinated by organized crime, and can be traced back to ... scam farms in Southeast Asia. Some of these fraud groups are very organized, highly criminal, and highly dangerous, and people who do this a few times to make some money can get caught up in being extorted, or worse.”