Organizations face more AI-powered fraud attacks but privacy tools make detection harder

A new study from fraud prevention specialist Fingerprint finds 41 percent of over 300 fraud and technology leaders surveyed say their organizations are already facing AI-powered attacks.

These sophisticated threats, which range from generative AI phishing schemes to automated bot attacks, are creating a significant operational crisis. According to the report, 93 percent of fraud teams have seen noticeable operational impacts, with 38 percent of organizations citing higher costs from manual review and triage as a top business concern.

The B2B SaaS industry is especially vulnerable, with 62 percent of respondents reporting significant increases in manual processes.

Interestingly privacy-first technologies are creating fraud detection challenges. Industry shifts like Google's phase-out of third-party cookies and Apple's Intelligent Tracking Prevention are dismantling the traditional tools fraud teams once relied on for user identification.

More than three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents report that privacy-focused browsers, VPNs and consumer privacy preferences impact detection capabilities, while 40 percent say these technologies are significantly reducing identification accuracy.

The finance sector is a particular target but the report finds that while traditional banks report a higher rate of AI-powered attacks (54 percent), they are significantly slower to adopt modern defenses. Only 33 percent of banking respondents say they are evaluating AI-powered fraud tools, compared to 52 percent of their fintech counterparts.

“The AI arms race isn’t a future concern; it’s already causing major financial and operational disruption right now,” says Dan Pinto, CEO and co-founder of Fingerprint. “At the same time, privacy regulations are rightfully shifting to give consumers more control. How do you stop sophisticated, automated threats when the old methods of identifying users are becoming obsolete? The answer must be a move toward more advanced, privacy-compliant identification methods.”

In response to these threats, an overwhelming 90 percent of organizations plan to adopt more persistent, privacy-compliant visitor identification methods within the next 12 months, with nearly half actively planning implementation.

The full report is available from the Fingerprint site.

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