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Five fraud trends to watch in Australia and New Zealand

Five fraud trends to watch in Australia and New Zealand

Fraud has entered a new era. In ANZ, fraud is evolving at a pace few could have imagined even five years ago. Today’s fraudsters are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), generative tools, and deepfake technology, pushing the boundaries of deception.

This has given rise to a new breed of fraud that is more convincing and scalable, and significantly more challenging to detect.

Businesses across all sectors must now adapt, not only to shield themselves from financial losses but also to uphold customer trust in an increasingly digital world.

Here are five fraud trends Australian and New Zealand businesses need to watch in 2025 and beyond.

Trend #1. Fraud is moving faster than ever

Identity fraud is one of the fastest-growing crimes in ANZ. Almost seven in ten organisations across Australia and New Zealand reported an increase in fraud cases from 2023 to 2024, with identity-related fraud a primary concern, according to GBG’s Global Fraud Report 2024. Almost all (97%) of fraud professionals surveyed said they were concerned about the shift towards more organised, widespread fraud, while 77% had observed a significant rise in sophistication over the past 12 months.

Losses from online payment fraud are projected to exceed USD 362 billion between 2023 and 2028, according to Juniper Research, with identity-related fraud on the rise due to data breaches and advanced, AI-driven methods.

Fraudulent applications for loans, credit cards, and superannuation access are rising, alongside account takeover attacks and the use of mule accounts to launder stolen funds. For the most part, these fraudsters aren’t acting alone. They are part of a growing, illicit ecosystem designed for mass deception, enabling phishing, scams, cyber theft, and large-scale identity fraud.

It’s no wonder businesses are struggling — Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Report 2024 found that 71% of organisations in EMEA and APAC admit they can’t keep up with the pace of change in fraud.

Trend #2. Gen AI is supercharging fraud

Generative AI is rapidly becoming the tool of choice for fraudsters. This trend is expected to become the single biggest challenge in identity verification over the next few years, according to GBG’s Global Fraud Report 2024.

Gen AI makes it easier to:

  • Generate convincing synthetic identities.
  • Produce highly accurate fake ID documents, such as passports, driver’s licences, or payslips.
  • Scale up phishing and smishing attacks with natural, localised language.
  • Create deepfakes at a quality level that can evade standard biometric verification.

Beyond creating synthetic identities and highly realistic fake documents, fraud professionals are now reporting AI being used for open-source intelligence gathering. With just a person’s basic details, AI engines can trawl the web to piece together their entire online identity, home address, and phone numbers, all of which can be weaponised in identity theft and fraud attacks.

Just as concerning, as generative AI tools become more accessible, the barrier to entry for fraud has collapsed. The criminal underground is actively trading in tutorials, toolkits, and plug-and-play services that make it easier than ever to launch sophisticated attacks. From step-by-step playbooks on bypassing onboarding to ready-made face-swapping tools, fraud has become dangerously easy to execute.

Trend #3. Deepfakes are fraudsters' new weapon of choice

Deepfakes and AI voice replication have rapidly moved from curiosity to mainstream fraud tactics over the past year. We’re seeing them in everything from sophisticated phishing to Microsoft Teams or Zoom-based attacks, CEO fraud, and other business-compromising attacks.

Financial services firms in particular are seeing a surge in deepfake attempts to bypass KYC (Know Your Customer) checks, enabling money laundering through falsified credentials.

The numbers are alarming. In GBG’s survey, 31% of APAC fraud prevention professionals identified AI voice manipulation as the most prevalent fraud typology in their industry, while 28% pointed to deepfakes.

For Australian and New Zealand businesses, this signals a clear challenge: fraudsters are undermining digital trust at scale and exploiting biometric systems once considered untouchable.

The risks extend far beyond financial losses. If consumers lose confidence in the security of digital services, the reputational fallout for businesses could be devastating.

Trend #4. Fabricated identity fraud is Australia's hidden fraud risk

While deepfakes grab headlines, fabricated identities, also known as synthetic identities, are becoming one of the fastest-growing forms of fraud. A fabricated identity combines real and fake data to create an identity that can pass basic checks (e.g. a genuine driver licence number with a fabricated name). This fabricated identity is used to open accounts and then commit fraudulent transactions.

In this space, the most dangerous fraudsters play the long game, building up a credit history and digital footprint over time, gradually gaining access to higher-value accounts and services. When the time is right, they cash out in one large scam and disappear.

The challenge for ANZ businesses is that fabricated identity fraud often slips past legacy systems, which are designed to flag anomalies in real customer records. By the time sleeper fraud is detected, the losses can be substantial and difficult to recover.

Trend #5. Mobile-based fraud techniques are rising

Australia has one of the highest rates of mobile banking and digital payments adoption in the world. Australians made a staggering $160 billion worth of payments with their mobile wallets in 2024 alone, making mobile fraud a growing concern.

GBG’s report revealed the most prevalent mobile-based fraud techniques across APAC to be:

  • SMS interception (42%)
  • Call forwarding (41%)
  • Porting (39%)
  • Phone number recycling (39%)
  • SIM swapping (39%)

These attacks exploit weaknesses in telco processes and mobile authentication, giving fraudsters access to OTPs, banking apps, and payment platforms. For ANZ businesses, this underscores the need to go beyond SMS-based verification and implement layered, device-aware security measures.

Defending against AI-powered fraud

For ANZ businesses, the sheer complexity of today’s fraud tactics means that traditional, single-point defences are no longer enough. If there’s only one line of defence, it’s just a matter of time before it’s breached.

Take deepfakes, for example. Gartner predicts that, by 2026, deepfake-driven attacks on face biometrics could lead to 30% of enterprises no longer considering identity verification reliable in isolation.

That’s why a multi-layered defence model is essential. Rather than relying on one check, organisations need overlapping protections that adapt to different fraud vectors.

Providers like GBG are leading the way in delivering these layered defences, combining:

  • Document Verification and Biometrics – Catch even the most advanced fakes with world-leading document and biometric checks. Detect fake IDs, font tampering, deepfakes, face swaps, and digital manipulation instantly. Match selfie to ID with precision facial biometrics and passive liveness testing.

  • Trust Alert – Predictive, real-time intelligence that flags suspicious behaviour before onboarding, powered by millions of identity events across industries.

  • Ongoing monitoring – Automated screening that continuously alerts businesses to changing risks, so they can act before damage is done.

  • Watchlist screening – Real-time checks against sanctions, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and adverse media watchlists.

  • Comprehensive data sources – Access to Australia and New Zealand’s most complete set of identity data, verifying more genuine customers, including those traditionally hard to reach.

As fraudulent tactics grow more sophisticated, regulators are also raising expectations of businesses and sectors. In Australia, AUSTRAC and ASIC are sharpening their focus on fraud and financial crime, pushing for stronger cooperation across industries. In its 2025-6 priorities, AUSTRAC stated that it will look at risk and behaviour at an industry and sector level rather than focusing solely on individual entities.

Final word: Future-proofing fraud prevention

Fraud in 2025 looks very different to fraud just two years ago. It is AI-powered, faster, and more deceptive than ever. As fraud tactics evolve, so must fraud prevention. Businesses need adaptive systems that can learn, adjust, and strengthen in real-time, ensuring they are not just protected today but prepared for tomorrow’s threat.

Solutions from providers like GBG give organisations the agility and layered defences needed to stay ahead of fraudsters.