AI-driven fraud is rapidly rising, with automated attacks and deepfakes exposing limits in traditional verification and pushing firms toward real-time, collaborative defences.
Artificial intelligence is transforming the security landscape at an incredible pace. Veriff’s latest Fraud Industry Pulse Survey 2026 offers essential insights for professionals in the payments sector, highlighting a significant rise in automated threats and digitally manipulated media. For payment networks and financial institutions, the message is clear: it’s time to rethink traditional verification methods.
The survey data serve as a clear indicator of where the industry stands. It highlights the exact challenges businesses face right now and outlines the collaborative steps needed to secure customer data moving forward.
The scale of the AI fraud epidemic
The numbers from Veriff’s latest research paint a stark picture of the current threat environment. According to the 2026 survey, nearly 74% of fraud professionals reported a noticeable rise in online fraud over the past year. Even more concerning is the nature of these attacks. A significant 75% of respondents specifically noted an increase in AI-driven fraud attempts.
This aligns with Veriff’s broader annual findings, which detailed a 300% increase in AI-generated fraud and digitally altered media attacks between 2024 and 2025. Bad actors are no longer relying solely on basic impersonation tactics. They are using techniques like generating synthetic identities and deepfakes to bypass standard security checkpoints at scale.
The financial toll of these automated attacks is substantial. The survey found that 85% of organisations experienced direct financial impacts from fraud. Some companies even reported losses reaching up to 20% of total revenue.
What this means for the payments industry
For the payments sector, this data signals a definitive shift. Cyber incidents have evolved from traditional system break-ins to complex identity manipulation. Many current know-your-customer (KYC) solutions act merely as orchestration layers. They route customer verification requests to third-party vendors, which fragments accountability and increases the risk of data exposure.
Trust cannot depend on invisible sub-processors. It must become an architectural decision. Payments companies need vertically integrated technology stacks that ensure end-to-end control over the verification process. By owning the trust architecture, businesses can gather deeper fraud intelligence and maintain clear accountability over customer data.
When customer data passes through multiple unseen environments, response capabilities naturally diminish. To combat intelligent, automated threats, the payments industry must prioritise systems that offer real-time visibility and immediate mitigation capabilities.
Moving toward collective intelligence
Fraudsters already operate in highly collaborative networks. They share tools, scripts, and exploits across borders to maximise their success rates. To effectively counter this, the payments sector must adopt a similar mindset. Isolated, siloed defences are no longer sufficient against coordinated attacks.
Industry findings point toward a shift toward collective intelligence. By utilising crosslinking technology, organisations can create a shared layer of protection. This approach involves sharing anonymised threat data across different clients, without ever exposing personal customer information.
When a novel AI-driven attack hits one organisation, the system groups similar data points in real time. This immediately strengthens the defences for all other participants in the network. This consortium-style model turns an isolated attack into actionable intelligence for the broader industry. It helps detect coordinated fraud rings that standalone systems easily overlook.
Next steps for payment professionals
The findings from the Fraud Industry Pulse Survey 2026 serve as an important milestone for the payments sector. The rapid rise of AI-driven fraud requires immediate, strategic action. Payment professionals must evaluate their current architecture and move toward more accountable, collaborative defence systems.
Proactive prevention is a proven driver of return on investment. By embracing collective intelligence and secure data sharing, the industry can stay ahead of the next wave of automated threats. Readers can explore the full scope of these developments and actionable strategies by reviewing the complete Veriff Fraud Industry Pulse Survey 2026.
