Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of UK companies have seen a rise in on-line fraud over the previous 12 months, in line with a brand new survey from international identification verification agency Veriff.
Within the Veriff survey, round 73 per cent of UK fraud professionals mentioned that on-line fraud has negatively affected their firm’s income up to now yr. For 64 per cent of companies, this translated to income losses between one and 9 per cent, successfully a ‘fraud tax’ costing them thousands and thousands yearly. Extra alarmingly, one in ten UK companies (9 per cent) reported losses starting from 10 per cent to greater than 20 per cent of annual income.
The worldwide identification verification agency’s UK Fraud Trade Pulse Survey, which polled 200 fraud professionals throughout monetary providers, know-how, and retail sectors, additionally discovered that whereas 22 per cent of UK firms reported no income losses to fraud, over 88 per cent count on fraud to surge in 2025. Regardless of this anticipated risk, 52.5 per cent admit being solely ‘considerably ready’ towards these assaults.
“These findings paint a stark image of the rising monetary risk that on-line fraud poses to British companies,” defined Iryna Bondar, senior fraud group supervisor at Veriff. “We’re seeing not simply extra fraud makes an attempt, however more and more subtle assaults that may bypass conventional safety measures.
“Many firms that haven’t but suffered vital losses are complicated luck with preparedness. This complacency, not power, leaves them significantly susceptible as AI-driven threats quickly outpace legacy safety instruments. It’s not a query of in the event that they’ll be focused, however when.”
For twenty-four per cent of UK companies, 11 to 25 per cent of month-to-month ID verification makes an attempt are fraudulent, and 10 per cent of firms report that fraudulent makes an attempt exceed 25 per cent of all verification quantity. This vulnerability is especially worrying amid the rise of ‘identification factories’, the place criminals use AI to mass-produce artificial identities.
Combating fraud
With 61.5 per cent of UK companies reporting a rise in AI-powered assaults and dealing with numerous threats starting from malware (47.5 per cent) and impersonation fraud (44 per cent) to doc fraud (31.5 per cent) and third-party coercion (20 per cent), no single safety measure gives ample safety.
Companies are responding by adopting superior applied sciences. Sixty per cent of UK organisations are already utilizing AI and machine studying for fraud prevention, with one other 25 per cent planning to undertake these applied sciences inside the subsequent 12 months.
Id verification (IDV) and biometrics have emerged as crucial elements in fraud prevention methods, with 80.5 per cent of UK decision-makers already incorporating these applied sciences into their safety processes. Trying forward, 78.5 per cent plan to extend their use of those instruments within the coming yr.
Buyer expectations are additionally driving the necessity for stronger defences, with 71 per cent of UK respondents reporting that prospects are more and more demanding strong fraud prevention capabilities. “As fraudsters grow to be extra subtle, companies should reply with equally superior defences or danger shedding each income and buyer belief,” added Bondar. “The simplest technique combines a number of layers of safety to make assaults too expensive and time-consuming for criminals.”
The worldwide nature of those threats is obvious in line with parallel surveys from Veriff, which revealed related patterns within the US and Brazil, with 72 per cent of US and 70 per cent of Brazilian respondents additionally reporting elevated fraud.
