'Sophisticated fraud' up 180% globally and UK deepfake attacks double, warns Sumsub

AI is reshaping identity crime as attackers move from volume to precision, as illustrated in Sumsub's Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026

LONDON, Nov. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Sumsub, a global leader in verification and fraud prevention, today released its latest Identity Fraud Report for 2025-2026.

This study of global* data analyses millions of verification checks and 4,000,000+ fraud attempts between 2024-2025*. The report blends international and regional dynamics with findings from Sumsub's Fraud Exposure Survey 2025, featuring responses from 300+ risk professionals and 1,200+ end users.

The study finds that sophisticated fraud - multi-step, coordinated attacks that combine several advanced techniques within a single verification attempt - has risen 180% globally in 2025. This is the Sophistication Shift: fraud operations are increasingly designed for higher success rates, higher financial impact and greater resistance to traditional controls, meaning that fraudsters now need far fewer attempts to carry out a successful attack.

Key 2025 findings

• 72% of EU companies expect more sophisticated attacks using AI, particularly involving deepfakes and AI-generated identity documents
• Deepfake fraud attempts nearly doubled in the UK, rising 94% in 2025 - second only to France (96%), followed by Spain (84%) and Germany (53%)
• One in five fraudulent verification attempts in Europe in 2025 involved an edited or forged ID document
• 64% of European companies reported fraud-related financial losses, with 36% citing reputational damages
• 87% of Europeans don't know or understand what money muling is, making them more vulnerable to scams designed to transfer illegally obtained funds

Scammers are taking advantage of Big Tech's race for AI realism to generate more effective fraud materials. Household name tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are now responsible for 2% of all falsified documents processed globally and anticipated to drive double-digit growth for this fraud in 2026.

Europe's fraud paradox

Total fraud rates in Europe are decreasing, yet Europeans are increasingly susceptible to greater damages from fraud. Complex regulatory systems give fraudsters more vectors for attack. Combined with a reliance on manual and external solutions, criminals are presented with the perfect environment to deploy realistic AI fraud.

• Fewer attacks
  Overall fraud decreased slightly by 0.4% but rates have remained largely even. By employing sophisticated fraud methods, attackers don't need to make as many attempts - and are less likely to be detected by legacy systems.
• More victims
  Despite this, over half of European businesses were fraud victims in 2025. Low digital literacy, coupled with fragmented national systems and cross-border financial flows, indicate that improved fraud awareness is not equating to readiness.
• Outdated business procedures
  37% of European businesses rely on manual fraud prevention processes: the region's mature digital identity programmes and strict regulatory regimes are not reflected in day-to-day digital infrastructure.

"The traditional measures of success in fraud prevention are quickly losing meaning," said Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI/ML at Sumsub. "The threat has shifted from quantity to quality, and resilience now depends on how quickly organisations can detect anomalies, analyse behavioural data and adapt their defences to emerging threats in real time."

Industry impact

• The global professional services sector recorded a sharp 232% rise in identity-fraud attempts in 2025, as fraudsters target legal, consulting, and accounting firms for their sensitive client data and reliance on manual onboarding
• Online media (social media, websites and blogs) is the UK's most exposed category with a 6.3% fraud rate, despite an 18% YoY decline - posing a threat to businesses reliant on online services
• The internet dating sector saw a fraud rate of 6.3% - with romance scams driven by AI personas and deepfakes.

"Despite greater awareness, the gap between recognition and real-world application remains problematic," said Jacob Thompson, VP of Sales at Sumsub. "Nearly 3 in 5 European consumers were victims of fraud in 2025. For now, the most visible shift is not in how much fraud exists, but how efficiently it is executed."

Future outlook

Sophistication Shift: In 2026, total fraud rates are expected to decrease or remain steady. However, there will be a smaller number of criminals executing  more damaging, higher-impact campaigns with more professionalised operations

Agentic fraud: professional fraud rings will increasingly use autonomous agents, systems increasingly able to execute sophisticated, end-to-end attacks with minimal human involvement.

Fraud industrialisation: automation will make cross-channel manipulation and orchestration more accessible. In turn, we will see synthetic identities and fraud-as-a-service toolkits enable attackers to deploy attacks involving multiple co-ordinated fake identities at scale.

Proactive compliance: Europe is already taking proactive measures to fight AI-enhanced fraud - the EU AI Act, Denmark's emerging deepfake legislation and even the UK's Online Safety Act are showing promising regulatory intent. But to effect real progress against rapidly advancing fraud, companies will need to work more closely with policymakers.

How the industry must react:

• Compliance teams must evolve into consolidated risk intelligence units that integrate compliance, fraud detection, reporting and case management.
• Verification must move from isolated checks to continuous assessment that combine device telemetry, behavioural analytics and contextual intelligence into a single adaptive layer.
• Agentic defence: As users continue to transact via AI agents, verification systems will involve their secure and traceable verification - potentially, by other AI agents

"AI reshapes both offence and defence," said Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI/ML at Sumsub. "Attackers gain deepfakes, synthetic IDs, and autonomous fraud agents; defenders gain behavior modeling, millisecond anomaly detection, and self-learning systems. The next frontier is verifying AI agents themselves - confirming not just who you are, but who acts on your behalf."

To explore the Sumsub Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026 in full detail, visit https://sumsub.com/fraud-report-2025/.

* Note on Sumsub's research methodology

Sumsub Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026 compares internal identity verification and user activity data from 2024 and 2025, with added 2023 data to observe trends. All insights included are for countries with significant user activity on Sumsub's platform. The data has been aggregated and anonymized, with 4,000,000+ fraud attempts analyzed. All graphs and infographics are based on the data of consenting customers.

Sumsub conducted a Fraud Exposure Survey in August 2025. The survey included 1,200+ end-users from Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and 300+ fraud and risk professionals from companies of diverse sectors, including banking, crypto, payments, e-commerce, trading, and iGaming.

About Sumsub

Sumsub is a leading full-cycle verification platform that enables fraud-free, scalable compliance. Its adaptive, no-code solution covers everything from identity and business verification to ongoing monitoring – quickly adjusting to evolving risks, regulations, and market demands.

Recognised as a Leader by Gartner, Liminal, and KuppingerCole, Sumsub combines seamless integration with advanced fraud prevention to deliver industry-leading performance.

Over 4,000 clients—including Bitpanda, Wirex, Avis, Bybit, Vodafone, Duolingo, Kaizen Gaming, and TransferGo—trust Sumsub to streamline verification, prevent fraud, and drive growth. The platform's methodology follows leading global AML standards and regulations, and Sumsub has extensively engaged with leading research and public institutions like the UN, Statista, and INTERPOL.

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