The rapid shift of financial services into digital spaces is creating new opportunities for cybercriminals, many of whom are increasingly relying on AI to outsmart security checks. From fabricated identities to altered documents, fraudsters are using advanced tools to bypass verification systems that many financial technology companies still struggle to secure.
For firms operating in the fintech sector, cybersecurity is becoming a central part of product design rather than a feature added later. This reality shapes the approach taken by software design and development agency Shakuro, which has built multiple fintech applications.
According to the firm’s CTO Alex Chaly, many businesses still fail to appreciate how deeply protection measures must be integrated into platform development.
Recent data cited by Fintech News highlights the growing scale of the challenge. In 2025, attempted cryptocurrency fraud jumped by 38%, while cases involving manipulated documents increased by 21%. Payment-related fraud also rose close to 10%. Financial services recorded an overall fraud rate exceeding 5.5%, a figure 30% higher than the worldwide average.
Among financial platforms, lending and crypto firms recorded some of the highest levels of identity-related fraud. Investment and trading platforms faced elevated rates of authorized scams, while traditional banking institutions also reported poor performance across multiple fraud categories.
Verification systems faced mounting pressure, with fraudulent attempts accounting for 4.18% of checks in 2025. In practical terms, nearly one in every 25 verification efforts involved identity impersonation. The trend follows two consecutive years of roughly 20% annual growth, suggesting little indication of slowing.
Chaly argues that outdated protection systems are no longer sufficient as cybercriminals increasingly rely on AI-powered tools.
The challenge is amplified by advances in manipulated media. Fintech News reported that digital content published in 2025 was three times as likely to be generated or altered using AI as in the previous year. Deepfake scams are also becoming increasingly common within identity verification systems.
AI-supported information forgery represented 2% of detected fraudulent paperwork last year, a sharp rise from almost nonexistent levels a year earlier. Criminal groups are reportedly deploying automated AI systems capable of generating synthetic identities, interacting with verification tools in real time, and refining tactics after failed attempts.
Synthetic identity scams have become an especially pressing concern. Research from LexisNexis’ Cybercrime Report found such cases accounted for 1.4% of fraud incidents in 2024 and over 11% in 2025.
Chaly argues that fraud prevention now extends well beyond login screens. Criminals increasingly exploit dating apps, gaming forums, and social media networks to gain trust and collect personal information before targeting financial accounts. By the time suspicious transactions emerge, the groundwork may have already been completed elsewhere.
As scrutiny from regulators intensifies, fintech firms are reassessing how products are designed. Companies are placing greater emphasis on adaptive identity verification, real-time monitoring systems, and infrastructure capable of meeting changing compliance demands.
Chaly believes businesses prioritizing security from the earliest stages will be better positioned to earn customer confidence. As the threat landscape evolves, companies like MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) with a big stake in the crypto industry will have to adapt their cybersecurity mechanisms in order to mitigate any emerging risks.
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