Fraud: cases involving the use of deceased persons’ identities are set to fall in Italia in 2025
The 50 per cent reduction is linked to the deterrent effect provided by the link to the ANPR database, which enables identities to be verified promptly
Key points
In 2025, following checks carried out using the Scipafi tool, there were more than 205,000 tax identification numbers found to be non-existent (0.64 per cent of the total verified) and over 210,000 documents had been reported as stolen or lost (1.12 per cent of the total verified). Over 23,000 names for which verification of being alive had been carried out were instead found to be of deceased persons (0.10 per cent of the total verified). This is what emerges from the ‘Report on fraud prevention activities in the consumer credit sector and in the sector of instalment or deferred payments, with specific reference to identity theft’ for the year 2025, presented by the Minister for the Economy and Finance, Giancarlo Giorgetti, and forwarded to the Presidency on 6 May.
The impact of Scipafi
The report states that the data may be overestimated due to repeated checks on doubtful cases and possible typing errors. In any case, ‘it can be estimated that in 2025 alone, Scipafi helped to identify several tens of thousands of cases of potential fraud’. Scipafi is the administrative fraud prevention system fraud in the consumer credit sector, with specific reference to identity theft. Since its launch in 2015, the system has processed more than 189 million queries, returning approximately 2.5 billion results on individual data records subject to verification.
Fraud involving the personal data of deceased individuals is on the decline
The incidence of fraud involving the use of deceased persons’ identities has seen, compared with 2024, a significant decline, amounting to approximately 50 per cent. According to the study, this reduction is due to the deterrent effect of the link with the National Register of Resident Population (ANPR) database, which allows for prompt verification of whether the individuals in question are still alive. During 2025, discussions were also initiated with the National Association of the Car Hire, shared mobility and digital automotive industries (Aniasa) with a view to assessing its participation in the system. For the market segment represented by Aniasa – short- and long-term vehicle hire companies, corporate fleet management, commercial vehicle hire, car sharing and digital automotive – the financial loss resulting from vehicle thefts during long-term rental operations amounts to more than 65 million out of a total turnover of 7.5 billion.
