Criminals are using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, to create fake identities, forge documents, and bypass verification systems, the UK’s fraud prevention trade body, Cifas, suggests in its latest Fraudscape report.
It shows more than 217,000 fraud risk cases were recorded to the National Fraud Database (NFD) by Cifas members from January to June 2025 – a record number of filings for the six-month period. Cifas says that fraud in the UK is expected to continue to grow. It stresses how complex, sophisticated and dynamic the fraud landscape is, which not only enables fraudsters generally to steal, but ‘professional enablers’, such as rogue solicitors and unregulated brokers, ‘to commit convincing brand, authority and personality impersonations’.
The report points to economic pressures (on households and businesses), what it calls ‘growing societal acceptance of fraud’, risky consumer behaviour (which can lead to data loss or scamming) and AI-enabled threats all continue to fuel sophisticated and scalable fraud. The report speaks of how individuals are selling their own identities, often via a range of lures and typically on the promise of financial gain. However, by giving perpetrators access to legitimate credentials, Cifas warns that people risk losing their identity and becoming liable for loans or credit taken out in their name by criminals.
Overall, more than 118,000 cases of identity fraud were recorded between January and June 2025 – an ongoing threat that is being exacerbated by AI-enabled synthetic identities and fabricated profiles that can bypass security checks. The risk of identity fraud has also spread into sectors once seen as lower risk, Cifas adds. Its findings include:
– Insurance fraud up 25 per cent, driven by false applications and identity theft in motor insurance.
– Mobile account takeovers are replacing impersonation as the go-to fraud tactic.
– Public sector fraud rose 88 per cent, especially in driving licence applications with criminals using a victim’s previous address.
– Gambling-related identity fraud saw a 109pc rise, as criminals exploit onboarding vulnerabilities such as misusing identities of deceased individuals.
Telcos targeted
Facility (account) takeover climbed 1pc to more than 38,000 cases and now represents 18pc of all reported fraud to the NFD. The telecommunications sector saw the steepest rise over the first half of 2025, accounting for 69pc of takeovers, up from 40pc in 2024. ‘Misuse of facility’ cases rose 35pc, with more than 51,000 cases and making up almost a quarter (24pc) of all fraud recorded to the NFD. Bank accounts remain the main target, driving nearly three-quarters (73pc) of cases – a 20pc increase compared to January-June last year.
Insider threat
Cifas’ Insider Threat Database (fraud by employees against their employers) saw a 32pc uplift in cases. Organisations reported more employees were concealing their background information to secure roles or engage in dishonest activity to boost income.Persistent risks to business include polygamous working – where individuals hold multiple jobs or roles simultaneously often across employers or sectors without their knowledge or consent – as well as using fraudulent reference houses to cover employment gaps, and the recruitment of insiders to access sensitive company data.
Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, pictured, said: “Fraud is a national emergency – and AI has super-charged the threat, making it more sophisticated and harder to detect. No sector, business, or individual is immune.Tackling this fast-changing danger requires urgent, coordinated action through cross-sector collaboration and the sharing of data and intelligence. Only by working together can we stay ahead of the criminals and keep organisations and people safe from harm.”
More at https://www.fraudscape.co.uk/.
