AI-driven fraud threats are becoming increasingly more and more sophisticated. As a result, organisations are needing to spend more on fraud prevention to counter the developing criminal tactics. Exploring the methods being used to counter fraud in 2025, SEON, the digital fraud prevention and compliance firm, has published its ‘2025 Digital Fraud Report’.
The SEON report collected insights from 574 decision-makers from across the financial sector, including fintechs, paytechs, e-commerce and iGaming firms. It found that a trifector of points was leading the fraud prevention sector, with firms believing a good mix of the right people and technology was needed, as well as real-time transaction monitoring and the development of AI.
Combatting rising fraud
In its report, SEON found that businesses could forfeit up to five per cent or more of their revenue to fraud as a result of operational inefficiencies, compliance penalties and customer attrition. The evolving methods of fraud attacks are causing firms to need to spend more of their budget to better prepare themselves against bad actors.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents expect their fraud budgets to grow, as 86 per cent said they were spending more than three per cent of their revenue on fraud prevention. As fraud teams grow, though, decision-makers are concerned that fraud is growing faster than revenue. Thirty-two per cent agreed, with a further 11 per cent strongly agreeing.
Finding the right people and technology
Everyone has a part to play in preventing fraud. While IT teams are normally tasked with protecting organisations, sales, marketing, and communications employees must also ensure they are doing their own due diligence in their roles to ensure fraudsters can’t slip through the gaps.
According to the report, 97 per cent of respondents indicated that it was critical that IT and security teams collaborated with others to prevent fraud, while one per cent said it wasn’t very important at all. Interestingly, though, finance teams were the only ones that had no respondents who said collaborating wasn’t important at all.
AI predictions
Human error has long been listed as one of the biggest contributors to fraud. It only takes an innocent mistake to misread a sign of fraud for a potential business catastrophe. AI can help with this issue. According to the SEON report, 84 per cent of firms believe AI will reduce the need for human oversight.
The report also identified confidence in the technology, with 96 per cent of respondents expressing some degree of confidence, while 39 per cent said they were extremely confident in the technology and its capabilities when compared to traditional fraud prevention tools.
Additionally, over half (51 per cent) of the respondents believed AI was providing real, measurable value to combat fraud. Only one per cent said the tech was overhyped, with some practical benefits. Similarly, another one per cent said it wasn’t impactful at all in risk prevention.
Nonetheless, despite the popularity of AI (60 per cent), real-time transaction monitoring (62 per cent) was identified as the most important component in fraud prevention strategies over the next year.
Commenting on the report, Tamas Kadar, CEO, SEON, said: “Static fraud defences are no longer adequate in today’s fast-moving threat landscape. Organisations must embrace adaptive and transparent AI models to mitigate fraud risks faster and protect revenues more effectively. This report provides critical insights into the evolving dynamics of fraud prevention, underscoring the essential roles of innovative technologies and skilled professionals in this ongoing battle.”
