Fraud in 2025: five trends that are on the rise

As we approach the end of one year and head into the next, we go through a period notoriously rife for scams. Each year, it’s the same cycle: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Boxing Day sales and January sales. When eCommerce boomed, so did online purchase and payment fraud, both growing hand in hand.

But, thanks to the predictability of fraudsters acting whenever the opportunity arises, it’s become a yearly recurrence and so our understanding of the threat has grown too. As both consumers and businesses professionals we are now more aware of these potential traps, cautioned by the reporting on increased scams and annual warnings to stay vigilant.

As well, this year we have seen the bounce back of the crypto industry and with it too has come plenty of recycled warnings around the links between crypto and fraud.  

However, each year during this time, a question always comes to my mind: what are the growing fraud trends that aren’t being talked about enough?  

The world of fraud and identity is changing at an unprecedented pace. With new tech and innovation in the hands of fraudsters organisations are facing challenges – old and new. So, for businesses refreshing their fraud strategy for the coming year, here are five growing fraud threats you need to be aware of:

1. Attack, after attack, after attack – the pace will only increase

Fraud is already prevalent – according to the Office for National Statistics it’s now the most experienced crime in England and Wales. However, in 2025, we can expect to see a significant increase in the speed and frequency of fraud attacks.

If you don’t think that’s possible, then hold onto your hat, you’re going to be in for a bumpy ride next year. Established organised crime groups have turned fraud into a professional and stable source of income. The combination of Generative AI (GenAI) used by fraudsters and the industrialisation of fraud means attacks will not only become more frequent and activated on a larger scale but also more sophisticated.

Businesses must be prepared to respond quickly and effectively to these threats, leveraging advanced technologies and real-time data analytics to detect and mitigate fraud as it happens.

2. Going global: increased cross-border fraud

Fraudsters are no longer confined by geographical boundaries. In 2025, we’re going to see a big jump in cross-border fraud, with attacks hitting multiple businesses, sectors, and countries. This trend is driven by the global nature of digital transactions and the ease with which fraudsters can exploit vulnerabilities across different jurisdictions.

To fight this, businesses need to think globally about fraud prevention. This means collaborating within and across sectors and leveraging cross-border data sharing to identify and prevent fraud.

We are already seeing steps being made here, but more needs to be done. A big problem being that many organisations have been hesitant to collaborate across sectors and industries, fearing loss of competitive edge or privacy violations.

I predict this mindset will begin to change next year as cross-border fraud increases. Already last month the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has made it clear that UK data protection laws don’t stop organisations from sharing personal information to fight fraud. Instead, it urged organisations to share data in a “responsible, fair and proportionate” way to help individuals avoid the economic and financial harm that comes with being a victim of fraud.

3. Fraud or sabotage? The ulterior motive of fraudsters

One of the most concerning trends in the fraud landscape is the increasing focus on brand damage attacks. Fraudsters are not just after financial gain; they are targeting the reputation of businesses. The damage to a company's brand can result in significant financial losses, often surpassing the direct impact of the fraud itself. This makes brand damage a powerful tool in the fraudster's toolbox. We’ll certainly see more of this in 2025.

4. Sleeping synthetic identities will strike

Synthetic identity fraud is already one of the fastest fraud vectors in the financial industry. It’s particularly prevalent in the US – in fact, when we surveyed 1,200 fraud prevention professionals across the globe, we found US respondents are twice as likely as those in Europe to think GenAI used as a tool to create more convincing synthetic identities is the most threatening fraud vector to them (44% vs 22%).

Synthetic identity fraud is a tactic many businesses find hard to spot. Why? Because it involves mixing real, stolen personal information (PII) with fake data to create a new fabricated identity. This is then used to open accounts, make purchases, and commit various fraudulent actions.

Often, synthetic identity fraudsters play the long game by building up their credit history, eventually gaining access to higher-value finance and goods. Then, they vanish without a trace, leaving businesses scrambling to collect from people who never actually existed. This is called sleeper fraud.

The big problem businesses will be coming to terms with next year, is they are more vulnerable to synthetic identity fraud now than they realise.

The truth is, businesses often focus on fraud prevention during transactions or checkout, not when onboarding new customers. As many businesses haven’t had the right defences in place in the past – and still now – they’ve let in a huge number of fake identities just waiting to strike.

So, the risk isn't just about onboarding new synthetic identities but also dealing with the many sleeping synthetic identities are already lurking in their systems about to ‘wake up’ and cause havoc.

5. Old scams make a comeback as fraudsters recycle methods

AI has helped fraudsters develop new fraud tactics at pace – voice manipulation and deepfake videos have become much more prevalent over the last few years. There’s lots of fear surrounding these AI supported fraud vectors and a key reason is they are near impossible for even the most experienced fraud experts to detect without the support of technology. The average person or average employee can be easily fooled. Earlier this year, a multinational company’s Hong Kong branch made the news after an employee was tricked into transferring millions to fraudsters after they created a deepfake of the CFO.

As companies quickly pivot to defend against these new fraud vectors with the latest technology, scammers will start to turn back to old tricks to find re-opened weak spots. The fraud game is always changing, but, after all, everything comes back in fashion eventually. Don’t be fooled – these existing fraud vectors will appear again looking as good as new, fuelled by the latest tech. Organisations need to stay sharp and keep an eye on both old and new scams and create layered fraud prevention strategies.

The key takeaway: don’t get complacent.