Generative AI is predicted to supercharge online scams and impersonation assaults in 2026, pushing fraud forward of ransomware as the highest cyber-risk for companies and customers alike, in keeping with a brand new warning from the World Financial Discussion board.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of CEOs surveyed by the WEF stated they or somebody of their skilled or private community had been affected by cyber-enabled fraud in 2025. That shift has moved executives’ considerations away from ransomware, which dominated company menace lists only a 12 months in the past, and towards AI-driven scams which might be simpler to launch and tougher to detect.
“The problem for leaders is not simply understanding the menace however performing collectively to remain forward of it,” Jeremy Jurgens, managing director on the WEF, stated. “Constructing significant cyber resilience would require coordinated motion throughout governments, companies and know-how suppliers to guard belief and stability in an more and more AI-driven world.”
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Shoppers are feeling the influence as effectively. A recent Experian report discovered 68% of individuals now see identification theft as their high concern — forward of stolen bank card information. And that nervousness is backed up by federal information. The US Federal Commerce Fee reported $12.5 billion in shopper fraud losses in 2024, a 25% year-over-year improve.
Specialists say generative AI helps gasoline that progress by making scams simpler to create and extra convincing. The WEF report discovered 62% of executives had encountered phishing makes an attempt, together with voice- and text-based scams, whereas 37% reported bill or cost fraud. Almost a 3rd (32%) stated they’d seen identification theft circumstances, too.Â
Elevated use of AI instruments is reducing the boundaries for cybercriminals whereas elevating the sophistication of assaults. Scammers can now shortly localize messages, clone voices and launch lifelike impersonation makes an attempt which might be tougher for victims to identify. The WEF additionally warns that generative AI is amplifying digital security dangers for teams like kids and girls, who’re more and more focused by means of impersonation and synthetic image abuse.
On the identical time, many companies and organizations lack workers and experience to defend towards cyberthreats. Whereas AI may assist, the report cautions that poorly carried out instruments can introduce new dangers.
It is not simply companies dealing with extra threats. In its Could 2025 Scamplified report, the Shopper Federation of America warned that instruments that generate extremely customized phishing emails, deepfake voices and realistic-looking alerts are stripping away lots of the conventional pink flags we as soon as relied on to identify a rip-off.
Learn extra:Â Meet the AI Fraud Fighters: A Deepfake Granny, Digital Bots and a YouTube Star
For customers, the recommendation on how one can finest safeguard your privateness is simple however more and more essential.Â
The CFA urged customers to decelerate and query sudden calls, texts or emails that create a way of urgency or strain to behave shortly. It suggested towards sharing private, monetary or authentication info in response to unsolicited outreach and beneficial independently verifying requests by wanting up official cellphone numbers or web sites somewhat than trusting caller ID, hyperlinks or contact particulars offered in a message. You must also contemplate reporting suspected scams to authorities, such because the Federal Commerce Fee’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov website.
Usually, consultants proceed to advocate staying alert for suspicious messages, using strong, unique passwords, enabling multifactor authentication and maintaining with fundamental on-line safety measures as AI-driven scams evolve in 2026 and past.
