AI tools helped to defraud a record number of victims in the first half of the year, although many legitimate customers also continue to engage in suspect activity, according to Cifas.
The non-profit fraud prevention service said its members recorded 217,000 “fraud risk cases” in its National Fraud Database (NFD) between January and June 2025 – an all-time high.
AI was a key driver, with Cifas pointing to tools designed to create fake identities, forge documents and bypass verification systems.
This chimes with an Entrust report from 2024 which revealed that deepfakes comprise 24% of fraudulent attempts to pass motion-based biometrics checks. The firm said it recorded a deepfake attack on average once every five minutes last year.
Read more on Cifas: Over Half of UK Firms Concerned About Insider Threats
Elsewhere, account takeover (ATO) attacks grew by just 1% annually, although the share ascribed to the telecoms sector surged by 40% over the period, Cifas claimed.
“The rise in telecoms related filings is driven by organised ‘mobile dealer’ fraud, where scammers lure customers with seemingly great deals, deliver incorrect handsets, and redirect returned devices to addresses they control,” the report revealed.
“Despite over 16,000 cases recorded (+647%) intelligence indicates this MO [modus operandi] remains highly underreported.”
Legitimate account holders also continued to pose a fraud risk to the companies they do business with. Over 51,000 misuse of facility cases were filed to the NFD in 1H 2025, a 35% increase on the same period in 2024, making it the second highest case type.
“The misuse of bank accounts is the dominant reason for filing under this category, accounting for 73% of filings, over 6000 cases higher (+20%) than for the same period in 2024,” the report noted.
“This increase is most acute in relation to personal current accounts (23%), mainly ‘funds received-conduct unexplained’ and ‘funds received-money muling,’ – a new category for recording mule activity.”
Cost-of-Living Pressures Continue to Bite
Money mule activity can be explained in part by the continued cost pressures facing members of the public.
The same driver helped to increase insider fraud by 32% year-on-year.
“Employees are engaging in a range of dishonest activity to supplement their income, with many actively concealing information about their backgrounds to secure roles,” said Cifas.
“Persistent threats include employees working multiple roles without their employers’ knowledge or consent, using fraudulent reference houses and digital recruitment or placement of insiders where individuals aim to access sensitive data.”
A Cifas report from 2024 recorded a 14% annual increase in insider threats.
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