Experian’s New Fraud Forecast Warns Agentic AI, Deepfake Job Candidates and Cyber Break-Ins Are Top Threats for 2026

Experian® today released its annual Future of Fraud Forecast, identifying five fraud trends expected to impact businesses and consumers the most in 2026. This year’s forecast shows fraudsters are r...

The annual report reveals how technology adoption is fueling sophisticated scams

COSTA MESA, Calif.: Experian® today released its annual Future of Fraud Forecast, identifying five fraud trends expected to impact businesses and consumers the most in 2026. This year’s forecast shows fraudsters are rapidly weaponizing technologies to launch attacks that are more autonomous and harder to detect. From AI-driven scams to deepfake job candidates, these threats signal a new era of risk.

According to FTC data, consumers lost more than $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024. Experian data found nearly 60% of companies reported an increase in their fraud losses from 2024 to 2025. As fraud accelerates, Experian urges organizations to adopt multilayered, AI-powered fraud prevention strategies to combat the next wave of technology-driven schemes. This year’s top threats include:

Machine-to-machine mayhem: As organizations race to leverage agentic AI, the sheer volume of players entering the space will make fraud inevitable and impossible to ignore. Fraudsters will exploit agentic AI to commit new levels of digital fraud. With machine-to-machine interactions initiating transactions without clear ownership of liability, businesses will face growing uncertainty around agent ownership, intent and risk. Experian predicts fraud will reach a tipping point that will spark major conversations and decisions around liability, regulation and the role of agentic AI in shaping responsible digital commerce.

Deepfakes outsmart HR: Employment fraud is set to escalate in the remote workforce as generative AI (GenAI) tools generate hyper-tailored resumes and deepfake candidates capable of passing interviews in real time. Experian forecasts that employers will unknowingly onboard individuals who aren’t who they say they are, giving bad actors access to sensitive systems. This emerging threat is expected to reshape how organizations verify identity and intent in the hiring process.

Smarter homes, scarier threats: Smart homes are introducing new entry points for fraud. Devices like virtual assistants, smart locks, security systems, smart appliances and the coming use of humanoid robots will be exploited by bad actors to access personal data, monitor household activity and even take control of physical access points. Experian predicts that as the adoption of smart home devices continues to grow, so will the risk, with new forms of ransomware and opportunities for account hijacking, turning convenience into vulnerability for consumers.

Website cloning will overwhelm fraud teams: Cloned websites, where fraudsters replicate legitimate sites to phish consumers, are becoming easier to create through AI tools and harder to eliminate. Notably, even after takedown requests, spoofed domains continue to resurface. As companies are forced to play whack-a-mole to address these threats, they risk being distracted from broader fraud strategies, allowing other threats to escalate. Experian forecasts that cloned sites will continue to cause significant losses for online retailers and businesses by tricking consumers into sharing their credentials, fueling credit card fraud, accelerating identity theft and synthetic identities, and facilitating other forms of financial fraud.

Bots will break hearts and bank accounts: Emotionally intelligent bots powered by GenAI will carry out complex scams, like romance fraud and relative-in-need scams, without a human behind the keyboard. These bots will respond convincingly, build trust over time, and manipulate victims with precision and emotion. As they become harder to distinguish from real people and good bots, Experian predicts fraud will scale faster and become more financially and psychologically damaging.

“Technology is accelerating the evolution of fraud, making it more sophisticated and harder to detect. Businesses need actionable insights to stay ahead of these threats,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer, Fraud & Identity at Experian North America. “By combining differentiated data with advanced analytics and cutting-edge technology, businesses can strengthen fraud defenses, safeguard consumers, and deliver secure, seamless experiences.”

Experian’s fraud prevention solutions helped clients avoid an estimated $19 billion in fraud losses globally in 2025. For more information about Experian’s AI-powered fraud detection solutions available on the Experian Ascend Platform™, including NeuroID’s behavioral analytics, please visit https://www.experian.com/business/solutions/fraud-management.

To register for Experian’s 2026 Future of Fraud Forecast: Insights into the Next Wave of AI-Driven Fraud webinar on Feb. 5, 10 a.m.–11 a.m. PT, visit: https://us-go.experian.com/2026-future-of-fraud-forecast-insights-into-the-next-wave-of-AI-driven-fraud.

About Experian

Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our unique combination of data, analytics and software. We also assist millions of people to realize their financial goals and help them to save time and money.

We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agrifinance, insurance, and many more industry segments.

We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and to innovate. A FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 25,100 people across 32 countries. Our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at experianplc.com.

Fonte: Business Wire