UK-based fintech that leverages data to create new opportunities for customers, Experian, has recently announced its annual Future and Fraud Forecast.
The report reveals the top five emerging fraud threats that could challenge both businesses and consumers in 2025, focusing on how fraudsters will continue to leverage Generative AI (GenAI) to further commit sophisticated digital crimes at a fast pace.
The company’s 2024 US Identity and Fraud Report revealed that half of the surveyed customers are concerned about conducting online activities, whereas companies worry about cybercrime (75%) and GenAI fraud and deep fakes (70%).
Five fraud threats for 2025 according to the Experian report
- Crypto highs and lows. Following the drastic decrease of the cryptocurrency market in the past couple of years which has led analysts to declare it the ‘crypto winter’, 2025 sees a revival of this alternative payment method. With Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies on the rise in value, fraudsters will become more motivated to target consumers and crypto providers leveraging older techniques such as investment and romantic scams.
- Pig butchering scams. Fraudsters’ end game is to drain their victims of their money through any possible method. Often enough, criminals take advantage o pa erson’s sense of loneliness or unacceptance and, through social engineering techniques, will create a close, even romantic relationship with the victim. Experian forecasts that bad actors will find new ways to take their victims’ money off faster.
- Social media challenges. Social media fuels trends and products recommended by influencers or by many other regular users. In 2024, a form of check fraud that involved people recording themselves writing bad checks, depositing them at ATMs, and then withdrawing cash before the checks bounced back became viral, causing many participants to commit fraud. Experian predicts that similar trends will become viral in 2025 as well, perpetuating additional financial scams, without people truly understanding the repercussions behind their actions.
- Credential stuffing. Companies that store a large amount of personally identifiable information of their customers, such as healthcare companies, will most likely be targeted more by fraudsters in 2025. Using GenAI-created bots and a technique called password spraying or credential stuffing, attackers apply a list of commonly used passwords against a list of accounts to obtain access to victims’ accounts. Later on, the data obtained is either used to drain customers’ bank accounts or create synthetic identities to perpetuate other financial crimes.
- Bot attacks and botnets. With new generations of bots emerging, known as Gen4 bots, fraudsters become harder to detect and, therefore, will try to bypass companies’ firewalls and security measures to access sensitive, personal data.
Conclusions of the report
Technology is used to accelerate fraud at a rapid pace. The main challenge companies face is deploying old-school fraud prevention techniques and not leveraging the use of AI and ML in creating stronger fraud detection models.
About Experian
Founded more than 125 years ago, the consumer reporting agency has continuously upgraded its solutions to further tailor consumers’ ongoing demands. Investing in new technologies, Experian boasts a suit of fraud detection and prevention tools, leveraging behavioural biometrics and GenAI. The fintech is present in 30 countries globally and employs more than 21,000 people.
Technology is used to accelerate fraud at a rapid pace. The main challenge companies face is deploying old-school fraud prevention techniques and not leveraging the use of AI and ML in creating stronger fraud detection models.
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