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Three million ‘Frankenstein’ identities pose a multi-billion pound fraud threat: LexisNexis Risk Solutions

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LONDON, June 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The latest fraud threatening the UK could cost businesses at least £4.2billion if appropriate steps are not taken, new research from LexisNexis Risk Solutions shows.

A new study looked at over 72million consumer profiles and found 2.8million showing several signs of ‘Frankenstein cloning’, where fraudsters stitch real and made-up personal details together to create a ‘new’ synthetic identity to spoof credit checks and commit high-value fraud against banks and credit providers.

In the U.S. where synthetic fraud is already a major issue, businesses report an average $15k[1] loss to each confirmed synthetic fraud case. As a result, experts at LexisNexis Risk Solutions estimate that it could cost the UK economy around £4.2billion by 2027, unless firms start properly screening now, for the threat.

Most organisations’ existing fraud defences are ineffective against synthetic identities because they appear as normal, good customers until the fraud is committed. Once they ‘bust out’ with the funds, the lender is left to suffer the loss, as there’s no ‘real’ person to pursue for the debt.

Noreen Altaf, Identity Fraud specialist at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, explains: “At first, a synthetic ID has little value to a fraudster, as it has no credit history, so they need to play the long game. Scammers nurture each false identity by building what appears to be a real credit profile over time, making the synthetic ID seem like a trustworthy customer – because of this the fraud threat is effectively invisible to firms’ existing fraud defences, until it’s too late.

“Once a fraudster thinks the synthetic ID has enough plausibility, they’ll aim to max out available credit lines. This might be applying for a loan or credit card for thousands of pounds, taking a PCP contract for a new vehicle, or making a high-value purchase via a buy now pay later arrangement. The fraudster has no intention of repaying this, leaving organisations to foot the bill and chasing ghosts to recover the debt.

“There is still much businesses don’t know about this fast-emerging threat, so it’s difficult to predict the true potential cost of synthetic fraud to the UK. However, even a very conservative estimate of a £1,500 loss per fraud attack amounts to £4.2 billion in future credit write-offs for companies, with synthetic identities already hiding amongst their customer base – and it could be a lot higher.”

The study found strong evidence of scammers up and down the country using ‘synthetic farms’ in rural locations and ‘synthetic factories’ in urban areas to build up the credit scores of new synthetic identities on an industrial scale, in readiness for fraud attacks.

In one example, rental cottages based on a farm in Chichester appeared to have 439 highly suspect identities ‘living’ there over the past seven years, only 22 of which showed any evidence of being real people. The identities were making hundreds of applications for credit, such as short-term and payday loans and some were also linked to a similar farm hundreds of miles away near Dundee, Scotland. 

A heat map produced alongside the report shows similar activity is happening across the whole UK. Suspected synthetic farms can be seen in multiple locations across rural Wales and the Scottish Highlands.

Noreen continues: “A common characteristic of synthetic farms and factories is that they are properties where the mail can be easily intercepted by the fraudsters making credit applications. A farm, for example, might have a mailbox that’s at the end of a track, while empty buildings or shared mailboxes in cities can be exploited in a similar way.

“Synthetic fraud has been around for a while, but with sophisticated fraud modelling, we can, for the first time, more accurately detect and put a figure on it.

“Businesses need to act fast to protect themselves by investing in tools capable of spotting synthetic identities at application or onboarding stage, before they become customers. Given the length of time fraudsters have already been creating and nurturing synthetic identities in the UK – as evidenced by our research – banks, lenders and credit providers, in particular, should take appropriate action to review their existing portfolios to ascertain the extent to which synthetic identities may have infiltrated their organisations over time, before those identities get a chance to cash out.”

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions  

We harness the power of data, sophisticated analytics platforms and technology solutions to provide insights that help businesses reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. LexisNexis Risk Solutions have multiple offices across the UK and throughout the world and are part of RELX PLC (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), headquartered in London, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX.

[1] Synthetic identity fraud: A $6 billion problem, KPMG, 2022, KPMG.com

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Media Advisory – Minister Hodgson to highlight federal budget investments to make life more affordable for Canadians

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November 10, 2026

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MEDICINE HAT, AB, Nov. 10, 2026 /CNW/ — The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, the Honourable Tim Hodgson, will highlight federal budget investments to make life more affordable for Canadians. Media availability will follow.  

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2026

Time: 9 a.m. ABT

All accredited media are asked to pre-register by emailing media@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca. Details on how to participate will be provided upon registration.

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CU Anschutz Led Study Finds That Genetic Risk Does Not Explain the Maternal Effect in Type 1 Diabetes

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November 10, 2026

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A study of nearly 7,000 children found that inherited genetic risk did not explain why children whose mothers had type 1 diabetes developed the disease at about half the rate of children whose fathers had it

AURORA, Colo., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ – Children whose mothers have type 1 diabetes develop the disease at about half the rate of children whose fathers have it. Inherited genetic risk alone does not explain this long-observed maternal effect, according to a study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and published in Diabetes Care. The findings point to other possible biological mechanisms that warrant further investigation.

Researchers analyzed 6,942 children in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young (TEDDY) study, which followed children at increased genetic risk for type 1 diabetes from infancy into adolescence.

Researchers also examined a long-standing question: Could pregnancy loss help explain why children whose mothers have type 1 diabetes develop the disease less often?

“For decades, this relative maternal protection effect has been consistently observed across studies of living offspring of people with type 1 diabetes. One long-standing but unproven explanation is that this relative protection is an artefact resulting from the selective loss of pregnancies involving the highest-risk offspring,” said Randi K. Johnson, PhD, MPH, associate professor of biomedical informatics at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine and senior author of the study. “Advancements in genetics allowed us to comprehensively examine this phenomenon in the largest prospective cohort study of type 1 diabetes in the world.”

Genetic Risk Does Not Explain the Difference

Researchers compared children’s inherited genetic risk for type 1 diabetes using an extended genetic risk score. They found no significant difference in the genetic risk score between children whose mothers had type 1 diabetes and those whose fathers had the disease.

Despite similar genetic risk scores, children of affected mothers developed type 1 diabetes at about half the rate during the study. They also had a lower risk of developing islet autoimmunity, an early sign of immune system activity against the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas that precedes a type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

The Effect Changes With Age

Researchers found that the reduction in islet autoimmunity among children of affected mothers disappeared after age 6. The study also found no evidence that these children progressed more slowly to a type 1 diabetes diagnosis after developing islet autoimmunity.

“Our age-specific analysis shows that the maternal protective effect operates in early life, during the initiation of preclinical type 1 diabetes. The fact that the effect wanes rather than staying constant points future research toward more dynamic mechanisms,” said Sarah D. Slack, senior information science professional in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at CU Anschutz and lead author of the study.

Opening New Avenues for Prevention

Although the study does not identify the cause of maternal protection or establish pregnancy as its direct source, the findings challenge the hypothesis that pregnancy loss explains the phenomenon and point toward other possible explanations.

“Our goal is to find ways to prevent type 1 diabetes from occurring. Establishing that the relative maternal protection in type 1 diabetes is not an artefact of pregnancy survival tells us that there may be some mechanism at work in a type 1 diabetes pregnancy that confers a benefit to the offspring. Our next task is to find and understand that mechanism so we can develop solutions that might mimic that benefit for all children,” said Johnson.

Epigenetic changes are one possible biological mechanism under investigation by Johnson and team. Epigenetic changes affect how genes are switched on or off without changing the underlying DNA sequence. These changes can be influenced by factors during pregnancy and early life.

The study was supported by a grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Charitable Trust.

“Helmsley supports this important work because we are committed to developing strategies to prevent or delay the development of type 1 diabetes, including through identifying factors underlying maternal protection,” said Maryaline Coffre, Program Officer at Helmsley.

Identifying the mechanisms behind maternal protection could help researchers determine whether early-life biological processes offer opportunities to prevent or delay type 1 diabetes.

About the University of Colorado Anschutz
The University of Colorado Anschutz is a world-class academic medical campus leading transformative advances in science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus includes the University of Colorado’s health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes, and two nationally ranked independent hospitals – UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado – which see nearly three million adult and pediatric patient visits each year. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, CU Anschutz delivers life-changing treatments, exceptional patient care and top-tier professional training. The campus conducts world-renowned research supported by $890 million in funding, including $762 million in sponsored awards and $128 million in philanthropic gifts for research.

Find the latest CU Anschutz news here.

Contact:

Laura Kelley, CU Anschutz

(303) 704-5222, laura.kelley@cuanschutz.edu

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RIDE THE REAL-LIFE HOGWARTS EXPRESS: GREAT RAIL JOURNEYS INVITES HARRY POTTER FANS TO EXPERIENCE SCOTLAND’S ICONIC JACOBITE STEAM TRAIN

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November 10, 2026

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As HBO’s New Harry Potter Series Arrives This Christmas, Travelers Can Experience the Magic of the Original Films Aboard Scotland’s Famous Steam Train

CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Great Rail Journeys (formerly Vacations By Rail), invites travelers to experience the magic of the wizarding world aboard Scotland’s Jacobite Steam Train, famously associated with the Hogwarts Express in the original Harry Potter films. As HBO’s new Harry Potter series approaches its December 25 premiere, fans can plan a 2027 escape through the Scottish Highlands, discovering the landscapes and filming locations that helped bring the beloved stories to life.

Known worldwide as the real-life Hogwarts Express, the Jacobite travels an 84-mile round trip between Fort William and Mallaig. Its signature moment comes as the steam train crosses the 21-arched Glenfinnan Viaduct, immortalized in the films as the Hogwarts Express makes its way toward the magical school. The crossing offers travelers the chance to experience one of cinema’s most recognizable railway scenes firsthand.

The adventure begins in Fort William, beneath Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the British Isles. From there, vintage carriages carry passengers past dramatic mountains, shimmering lochs, remote villages and sweeping green glens before reaching the fishing village of Mallaig. Along the way, travelers can take in views toward Loch Shiel, another landscape recognizable from the films. The rhythmic clickety-clack of the rails, the locomotive’s whistle and clouds of steam create an atmosphere reminiscent of a bygone era of travel.

“Stepping onto the platform at Fort William, it’s like you’ve gone back to a golden age of travel. Vintage carriages line the tracks, steam billows from the mighty engine, and you can feel the excitement building all around you. Then, you step aboard and are whisked off to Hogwarts through some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. Having experienced the Jacobite several times, it’s truly a wonder to behold. Seeing the smiling faces of Harry Potter fans along the way makes you wonder whether magic really does exist,” said Gary Crompton, Product Manager at Great Rail Journeys.

Although its Harry Potter connection has transformed the Jacobite into a bucket-list experience for fans, the railway’s appeal extends far beyond the screen. Passengers have traveled through the Scottish Highlands on this route for more than 120 years, experiencing landscapes that change with the seasons. Traveling at a leisurely pace of no more than 50 miles per hour, the steam-hauled journey offers an immersive way to discover Scotland’s natural beauty while embracing the nostalgia of rail travel.

Great Rail Journeys, a trusted leader in rail travel for more than 50 years, offers a selection of 2027 Scottish vacations, including Edinburgh, the Highlands & Islands; Highland Adventure; and The Best of Scotland & Ireland. These curated itineraries showcase Scotland’s spectacular scenery, historic destinations and railway heritage, combining rail experiences with cultural exploration. Jacobite train experiences vary by tour and departure, with service generally operating seasonally from April through October. Travelers should review individual itineraries to confirm whether a Jacobite ride is included.

For longtime fans revisiting the original films and newcomers discovering Harry Potter through the upcoming series, the Jacobite offers an unforgettable reason to explore Scotland. From the first burst of steam at Fort William to the celebrated crossing of Glenfinnan Viaduct, this railway journey brings a touch of cinematic magic into the real world.

For more information about the Jacobite Steam Train and Great Rail Journeys’ Scotland vacations, visit greatrail.com/us/trains/jacobite-steam-train/ or call (877) 929-7245. Follow Great Rail Journeys on Instagram and Facebook at @greatrailjourneys.us.

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