Global Fraud Rates Surge 8% as Synthetic Identities and AI Bots Emerge as Key Threats
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-on-year, representing 11% of all frauds and becoming the fastest-growing fraud type globally.
- Agentic traffic, linked to credit card payments and logins at gaming and gambling sites, rose 450% between January and December 2025.
- Malicious bot attacks increased by 59%, with significant peaks in March, April, and August 2025, as criminals deploy sophisticated tools to mimic human behavior.
The big picture
The 2026 Cybercrime Report highlights the rapid evolution of fraud tactics, with cybercriminals leveraging advanced AI and automation to exploit digital vulnerabilities. As fraud rates rise, organizations must strengthen defenses across all digital touchpoints, particularly in high-risk sectors like e-commerce and online betting. The shift towards synthetic identity fraud and the emergence of agentic traffic underscore the need for sophisticated fraud detection capabilities that can keep pace with technological advancements.
What we're watching
- Fraud Detection Evolution
- How organizations will adapt fraud detection tools to distinguish between humans, bots, and agentic traffic.
- Regional Fraud Patterns
- Whether regional differences in fraud types will drive localized defense strategies.
- Collaborative Defense
- The pace at which cross-industry partnerships will enhance global digital intelligence and risk sharing.
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