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Research

Identity across the client relationship

An established client asks you to send access codes to a new mobile number. Their identity check is on file. What needs confirming before you make the change?

Explore identity checks
A professional verifying identity on a laptop

The finding

Account takeover continues after onboarding

Cifas recorded more than 78,000 account-takeover cases in 2025, up 6% on 2024. For an established client, the next decision may depend on what has changed since the last reliable check: a contact route, a representative, or an instruction.

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The numbers

The 2025 picture

Cifas member filings across sectors. Full-year figures, published March 2026.

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78,387 takeover filings

Facility (account) takeover cases filed during 2025.

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18% of all filings

The rounded share of all National Fraud Database filings.

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Takeover up 6%

Change in takeover filings compared with 2024.

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Identity fraud down 3%

Change in identity-fraud filings compared with 2024.

What this means

What has changed?

An earlier identity result tells you about the person originally checked. A new request may raise different questions about the contact route or authority to act. An assistant can legitimately handle correspondence without being authorised to approve a transfer.

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A proportionate approach

Start with the instruction

Our lifecycle framework considers the new action, the evidence already held, and the consequence of getting it wrong. Use the event to focus the review.

  • Confirm changes to contact details.
  • Check how an account was recovered.
  • Separate identity from authority to act.
  • Record the basis for sensitive instructions.
A person verifying their identity on a smartphone

From The Founder

The point of failure is rarely the technology alone

“When regulated firms add identity or age checks to customer journeys, the failure point is rarely the technology alone. It is the where and how it is deployed in a customer journey.”

Paul Holland Founder and CEO, Beyond Encryption (Mailock)
Paul Holland during a Mailock interview

When should you check again?

Illustrative questions and records for different events in the same client relationship.

A new number: what needs confirming?

Establish how the new contact route was confirmed using information independent of the request. Record the method, the source of contact details, and who authorised the change before using the new route.

An old client returns: what has changed?

Consider whether the evidence already held is reliable for the proposed action. Record what you reviewed, any refresh, and why it was sufficient. The time elapsed is one factor in the assessment.

A representative contacts you: who may act?

Check who the representative is and what they may do for the client. Keep identity evidence and the separate authority document or mandate together, with any limits on the instructions you can accept.

A sensitive instruction arrives: what supports it?

Identify the evidence needed for this particular action. Keep the checks, unresolved questions, approval, and any limits on the file. Leave the action pending while a material question remains unresolved.

What can the figures tell us?

Cifas member filings show the scale and annual change in account takeover. They do not compare exposure, losses, or control effectiveness at every stage of a relationship, and do not establish where your firm faces its greatest risk.

When should you repeat a check?

Choose controls around the action and the uncertainty to resolve. Routine correspondence, account recovery, and authority to move money are different jobs. This framework does not prescribe a fixed checking schedule or replace your firm’s own risk assessment.

Where does Mailock fit?

Mailock supports protected document exchange, recipient access controls, and identity-check requests by secure email. LexisNexis® Risk Solutions provides the checking service. Your team reviews the secure results pack and decides what action is authorised.

Sources and method

Desk research using Cifas’s full-year 2025 National Fraud Database figures, with illustrative lifecycle analysis by Beyond Encryption. Member filings are not all UK fraud, a count of distinct victims, or financial-services-only data. We keep this annual baseline separate from later half-year reporting.

Research updated 15 October 2026.

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Identity checks

Bring checks into client email

Explore identity-check requests and secure results in the email workflow your firm already uses.

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