While headline rates of fraud remain very high, progress is being made to tackle fraud and scams in the UK. The rapid increase in fraud losses, driven by the rise of scams over the last five years in particular, has galvanised a stronger collective response across both the public and private sectors. Recent statistics show encouraging, although early, signs that collective measures are having an impact.
A key consideration is how to sustain this positive direction of travel, building greater resilience into our collective counter-fraud response and evolving fraud countermeasures at the pace needed to keep up with technological change. AI presents the most significant challenge in this regard.
The speed with which AI capabilities are improving is astonishing. There is a real risk that hard-fought improvements in fraud defences could be undone if the right measures are not put in place to defend against fraud in an AI-enabled world.
We have collaborated with Stop Scams UK to explore how AI technology is impacting fraud and scams, and to gather insight to support strategic planning across the public and private sectors to defend against AI-enabled fraud threats.
Our research is based on conversations with Stop Scams UK members including representatives from leading UK banks, technology companies and a major telecoms operator. We also leveraged PwC’s own fraud and financial crime specialists, as well as our dedicated team of AI experts to understand how AI is driving fraud threats and its likely evolution in the short to medium term.
The research provides broad cross-sector perspectives on three questions:
- How is AI being used in fraud and scams now?
- How is AI being used to prevent and detect fraud?
- How will developments in AI create new threats and opportunities to tackle fraud and scams?
In answering these questions, we have sought to cut through the hype and provide an evidenced-based assessment of the current risks and challenges as well as reflecting on the significant potential upsides that AI could deliver, if harnessed correctly, to prevent, detect and disrupt fraud.
How we can help
- Understand how rapidly evolving technologies are changing fraud threats faced by your business
- Build resilient fraud defences that can adapt quickly to changing methods of attack
- Develop fraud risk management strategies, controls and processes that are compliant with changing laws and regulation
- Implement technology systems to prevent, detect and investigate suspected fraud
