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Mid-year 2026 Biannual Threats Report shows how strengthening payment security is pushing criminals toward AI‑enabled social engineering
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, today released its mid-year 2026 Biannual Threats Report, revealing that scams have become the fastest-growing source of consumer harm as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence and social engineering to manipulate people into authorizing payments themselves.
The report draws on intelligence from Visa’s global network and underscores a critical shift in the fraud landscape: while core payment security continues to strengthen at the network level, criminals are redirecting their efforts away from technical system compromises toward exploiting human trust.
From July to December 2025, Visa identified nearly $1 billion in scam-related activity, making scams the single largest category of consumer payment fraud. Unlike traditional fraud, these attacks typically do not require breaching technology. Instead, scammers impersonate trusted brands and institutions, manufacture urgency, and deceive victims into completing legitimate-looking transactions.
