As Network Security Strengthens, Criminals Accelerate Shift to AI-Enabled Social Engineering
Published by Visa
Visa released its Spring 2026 Biannual Threats Report, revealing that scams have become the fastest-growing source of consumer harm as criminals increasingly use AI and social engineering to manipulate people into authorizing payments themselves.
From July to December 2025, Visa identified nearly $1 billion in scam-related activity, making scams the single largest category of consumer payment fraud. Unlike traditional fraud, these attacks typically do not require breaching technology…
Read MoreAI Lowers Moral Barriers to Crime, Expanding Pool of Would-Be Fraudsters
Finextra Editorial Team
Early sessions on the second day of Nacha’s Smarter Faster Payments conference in San Diego, California, focused on how AI is lowering the barrier for entry for cyber attackers and allowing them to morally separate themselves from their victims.
Sardine’s chief of staff Matt Vega explained that when in conversation with fraudsters, they have revealed that with AI, “they’re able to morally separate themselves from the attack. We’re starting to get a larger pool of people that are willing to initiate attacks or commit fraud than ever before…
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Facebook Fraud Becomes Lightning Rod
Shefali Kapadia, Payments Dive
Banks and consumer advocates are taking social media to task, while Facebook tries to rein in fake profiles and scam ads.
Social media platforms, especially Facebook, have become a hotbed for payment scams, putting financial institutions in a position of playing the last line of defense to stop money transfers from a victim to a criminal.
Read MoreTime for a Reckoning on AML and Crypto
Clara Kim , Greg Baer & Paige Pidano Paridon; Bank Policy Institute
For decades, our government has counted primarily on the nation’s banks to identify suspicious activity and assist law enforcement and national security agencies in fighting criminals and terrorists.
Executing that responsibility requires tens of thousands of bank employees and countless man-hours. But cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are increasingly becoming the coin of the realm for money launderers and terrorist financers. And unlike banks, crypto companies do not have the same obligations under current law to protect the financial system from those abusing it…
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