Anticipated Fraud Trends

e can expect the financial impact of cybercrimes to continue to rise in 2025 among individuals and businesses of every size. In addition to cyber offenses, criminals will continue to steal mail and use other methods to gather sensitive personal information and bank account data for the purposes of identity theft, check washing, and check counterfeiting.

Cybercrime has become increasingly sophisticated over the past several decades. Unfortunately, as technology advances, it becomes easier for criminals to defraud victims. Factors making it easier for would-be criminals to commit cyber offenses include software tools such as AI large language models that can recognize and generate text, anonymized immediate payment systems such as cryptocurrencies, and a thriving overseas cybercrime economy built to support the theft of funds and data.

In less than twenty years, fraudster tactics have evolved from poorly written, untargeted mass emails to sophisticated, highly targeted spear-phishing emails, texts, phone calls, and even video chat sessions impersonating colleagues and business partners. In particular, this evolution has fueled the explosive growth of a fraud scheme known as Business Email Compromise, or BEC. This imposter scam occurs when criminals hack or impersonate legitimate email accounts. The scammers then pretend to be someone the recipient trusts in order to get their victim to transfer funds or take other actions.

Expect BEC scams to increase in frequency and sophistication as criminals re-invest earnings into their cybercrime business model. The FBI shared in September 2024 in FBI Alert I-091124-PSA that there was a 9 percent increase in identified globally exposed BEC losses between 2022 and 2023. The same alert noted that, between October 2013 and December 2023, more than 300,000 BEC incidents were reported worldwide. More than half of those were US victims, with total exposed losses of $55 billion.

Imposter scams encompass far more extensive fraud offenses than just BEC. They occur when an individual or business receives an email, text, or phone call from a criminal posing as someone they trust or a person of authority, instructing them to send money to a fraudulent account or take other action to benefit the criminal. The fraud scheme relies on abusing trust—whether the criminal is pretending to be a family member or romantic interest in desperate need of funds, a vendor who you regularly do business with, a supervisor or employee at your workplace, a financial advisor offering a time-limited investment opportunity, or a government agent threatening arrest if a payment is not made. Victims of imposter scams are representative of all demographics and all levels of education. No single factor makes one immune to these scams. Anyone can become a victim.

Criminals use various methods to trick and threaten potential victims if immediate payments are not made. These methods include sending convincing emails, often with a slightly altered email address; phone calls; or text messages from numbers with a caller ID matching the person or entity the caller claims to be. These criminals convey a sense of urgency by threatening consequences if not acted on immediately. They frequently demand electronic payments through wire transfers, real-time payment applications, gift cards, or cryptocurrency. Criminals know it is difficult or impossible to retrieve funds sent by these methods.

Common red flags include a request for payment that is:

• Unexpected.
• From an email, text, or phone number you do not recognize.
• Instructing you to change account or routing numbers.
• A claim that you’ve won a prize and need to pay a fee.
• A return payment in exchange for a check.

Protect yourself. Never send money to anyone who:

• You haven’t met in person.
• Says they work at a overnment agency.
• Pressures you into paying immediately.
• Threatens consequences if you don’t act.
• Demands payment by wire, payment app, gift card, or cryptocurrency.
• Unexpectedly tries to sell you something over the phone.

Steps businesses can take to reduce their risk:

• Train employees to be aware of common threats.
• Ensure all payment requests follow established procedures.
• Establish appropriate internal IT and financial controls.
• Don’t trust email. Call a known number to verify payment requests.
• Limit external access to email and protect it with multifactor authentication.
• Utilize fraud protection tools offered by your financial institution, such as positive pay, credit card alerts, check blocks, and administrative controls.

If you or someone you know becomes a victim of an imposter scam, immediately contact your financial institution. Learn more at consumer.ftc.gov/features/how-avoid-imposter-scams.

If your business becomes the victim of business email compromise, immediately contact your financial institution and file an Internet Crime Complaint Center report at www.ic3.gov.

Additional information and resources regarding various fraud schemes are available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Federal Trade Commission.