Visa has released its mid-year 2026 Biannual Threats Report, revealing that scams driven by artificial intelligence and social engineering have become the fastest-growing source of consumer harm in the payments industry.
According to the report, improved payment security across global networks is making it harder for criminals to breach systems directly.
As a result, fraudsters are increasingly shifting their focus toward manipulating individuals into willingly authorising transactions through deception and psychological tactics.
Drawing on intelligence gathered from Visa’s global payments network, the report identified nearly $1 billion in scam-related activity between July and December 2025. The figure makes scams the largest category of consumer payment fraud during the period.
Unlike traditional cyberattacks that involve hacking systems or stealing payment credentials, many modern scams rely on impersonation, urgency and emotional manipulation.
Criminals often pose as trusted organisations, financial institutions or well-known brands to convince victims to transfer money or share sensitive information.
Paul Fabara, Chief Risk and Client Services Officer at Visa, said the threat environment is changing rapidly despite continued improvements in payment security.
“Payments at a network level continue to get safer, but threats are evolving faster than ever,” Fabara said.
“Criminals are increasingly targeting people rather than technology, using deception, urgency and AI-enabled tools to exploit trust.
Addressing this shift requires continuous innovation at the network level and close collaboration across banks, merchants, policymakers and the broader payments ecosystem.”
Four Key Trends Identified in the Visa Threats Report
The Visa Threats Report highlights four major developments currently shaping the global payments security landscape.
First, security measures continue to deliver results. Fraud involving device tokens declined by 9.6 percent between July and December 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.
The reduction suggests that stronger authentication methods and network-level protections are helping to reduce certain forms of payment fraud.
Second, scams have emerged as the dominant threat to consumers. Criminals are increasingly favouring social engineering tactics over direct attacks on payment systems, making human trust a primary target.
Third, artificial intelligence is changing the fraud battle on both sides. While cybercriminals are using AI tools to create more convincing scams and automate fraudulent activities, security teams are deploying AI-powered solutions to detect suspicious behaviour earlier and prevent attacks before transactions are completed.
The fourth trend involves ransomware. Global ransomware activity increased by 26 percent during the second half of 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier.
However, only 23 percent of affected organisations paid ransoms, marking the lowest payment rate ever recorded.
The decline reflects stronger recovery capabilities and growing reluctance among victims to pay attackers, especially when there is no guarantee that stolen data will remain private.
AI Is Lowering the Barrier for Fraudsters
Visa executives warn that artificial intelligence is making fraud more accessible to criminals who previously lacked advanced technical skills.
Andrew Uaboi, Vice President and Cluster Head for Visa West Africa, said AI tools are transforming the way fraud is conducted.
“The rapid adoption of AI has fundamentally lowered the barrier to entry for fraud,” Uaboi said.
“What once required deep technical skill can now be executed with a prompt. That reality makes intelligence-driven defences and coordinated action across the ecosystem more critical than ever. With this report, our goal is to help leaders act sooner – before fraud reaches consumers.”
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The findings underline the growing importance of consumer awareness, advanced fraud detection technologies and industry-wide collaboration as digital payments continue to expand globally.
As cybercriminals adapt their methods, the Visa Threats Report suggests that the future of fraud prevention will depend not only on securing technology but also on helping consumers recognise and avoid increasingly sophisticated scams.
