The same generative AI tools that help people write emails and generate images are now being weaponized to steal money. Visa is sounding the alarm that ransomware incidents and AI-powered fraud are accelerating at a pace that should make anyone with a payment card pay attention.
The core problem is straightforward: cybercriminals are using generative AI to conduct more convincing scams directly against individuals. In English: the Nigerian prince email has graduated from laughably bad grammar to eerily polished, personalized messages that are genuinely hard to distinguish from legitimate communications.
The numbers paint a grim picture
A 2025 survey found a 47% rise in AI-enabled cyberattacks compared to prior periods. Financial services bore the brunt of it, accounting for 33% of all incidents. That makes banks, payment processors, and fintech companies the single most targeted sector in the AI-crime wave.
And it’s not just phishing emails getting smarter. According to research from SQ Magazine, 41% of ransomware families now include AI components. That means the software locking up corporate systems and demanding Bitcoin payments is itself getting an intelligence upgrade.
