Synthetic identity fraud and how source verification helps
A synthetic identity stitches real and fake data into a person who does not exist. Verifying each element against its source pulls the stitching apart.
What synthetic identity looks like
A real PAN, a fabricated name, a mule bank account, an address that is a virtual office. Each piece is plausible; the combination is not a real person. These identities are built slowly and used for credit and payout fraud.
Cross-source consistency
The defence is consistency checking. The name on the PAN, the name the bank returns on a penny-drop, and the name on any other ID must all describe the same person. A synthetic identity almost always fails one of these joins.
Velocity and reuse signals
The same bank account or the same address appearing across many different applicants is a ring signal. Verification data feeds these link-analysis checks: you cannot spot the reuse if you never captured the account name.