Financial institutions are on high alert going into 2026 as fraudsters continue to tap AI for their schemes. 

In fact, 67% of financial institution leaders agree that fraud events are increasing, driven by bad actors’ use of tools like generative AI, according to Alloy’s 2026 State of Fraud report, released Dec. 9. The report surveyed more than 500 industry leaders at enterprise banks, regional and community banks, credit unions and fintechs, and was conducted by The Harris Poll from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10. 

“The challenge with AI today is that it is more affordable and accessible than ever before, and therefore being used to accelerate a wide variety of schemes,” Sara Seguin, principal advisor of fraud & identity risk at Alloy, told FinAi News.  

“These schemes aren’t always new or more sophisticated, but AI can help fraudsters and scammers execute them at a greater scale and efficiency,” she said. 

The report found: 

• 91% of FIs see more financial crimes committed using AI; 

• 89% of leaders believe synthetic fraud is the most concerning tactic using AI; and 

• 22% of financial institutions reported losing over $5 million to fraud in the past year. 

Anti-fraud efforts

In 2025, FinAi News covered these AI-driven anti-fraud efforts: 

• Royal Bank of Canada is creating a tool blending AI and gen AI to fight fraud, Geoffrey Morton, senior director of fraud strategy at RBC, told FinAi News. The tool is expected to launch in 2026 after beta testing, Morton said.  

• MidSouth Community Federal Credit Union tapped AI-dispute management provider Casap to weed out fraudulent scams, Shanthi Shanmugam, founder and chief executive at Casap, previously told FinAi News. With Casap in place, the Dothan, Ala.-based bank expected to save $110,000 in operating costs by year end, John Mays, card services manager at the credit union, told FinAi News. 

• Visual risk intelligence provider Truepic launched an image verification and data authenticity solution in September. The AI-driven solution encourages shared intelligence in its network of financial institutions, CEO Jeffrey McGregor told FinAi News. The solution can determine what location photos were taken, if the photo is real, and if it was taken on a legitimate device. 

Register here for early-bird pricing for the inaugural FinAi Banking Summit 2026, taking place March 2-3 in Denver. View the full event agenda here.