Global Fraud Rates Surge 8% as Synthetic Identities and AI Bots Proliferate
Event summary
- LexisNexis Risk Solutions' 2026 Cybercrime Report reveals an 8% global rise in fraud rates, driven by synthetic identity fraud and bot-driven attacks.
- First-party fraud remains the leading source of fraud globally (38.3%), with significant regional variations: 51.7% in EMEA and less than 10% in Latin America.
- Synthetic identity fraud has increased eight-fold year over year, now representing 11% of all frauds and is the fastest-growing fraud type globally.
- Agentic traffic rose 450% in 2025, primarily linked to credit card payments and logins at gaming and gambling sites.
- Ecommerce fraud attack rates grew 64% year over year, with gaming and gambling sites experiencing a 76% rise in global attack rates.
The big picture
The 8% rise in global fraud rates underscores the escalating arms race between cybercriminals and organizations. As fraudsters leverage synthetic identities and sophisticated bots, companies must enhance their digital identity networks and fraud detection capabilities. The report highlights the need for cross-industry collaboration and shared risk intelligence to protect consumers and maintain trust in the digital economy.
What we're watching
- Fraud Detection Evolution
- How organizations will adapt fraud detection tools to distinguish between humans, bots, and agentic traffic.
- Regional Fraud Trends
- Whether regional differences in fraud types will continue to diverge, particularly with synthetic identity fraud in Latin America.
- Technological Arms Race
- The pace at which cybercriminals deploy advanced AI-driven tools to mimic human behavior and test defenses.
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