Artificial intelligence is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape at an unprecedented pace, for better and worse. On the positive side, the global market for AI-based cybersecurity products was approximately $15 billion in 2021 and is projected to surge to roughly $135 billion by 2030, highlighting rapid adoption and investment in AI-driven defense solutions.
Conversely, AI-powered threat tactics like phishing attacks increased by 58% in 2023, with financial damages estimated up to $3.5 billion in 2024. With over 5.5 billion users relying on digital platforms daily, advanced defense tactics are crucial to safeguarding the security of enterprises and their users.
Let’s explore how fraudsters are weaponizing AI in corporate and consumer environments, and the identity verification tactics enterprises across industries are leveraging, including AI and biometric technologies, to stop them.
Scams at Scale: Corporate and Consumer Targets
In the hands of cybercriminals, AI enables precision attacks at scale. In corporate settings, threat actors are moving beyond traditional corporate phishing attempts and successfully deploying generative AI tactics such as voice cloning and live deepfakes on conference calls. In 2024, a finance worker at a multinational company in Hong Kong transferred $25 million after being scammed on a live Zoom call by a hacker using these generative AI technologies. The scammer deployed live deepfake technology to impersonate the company’s CFO, successfully convincing the employee to transfer the funds.
On the consumer front, scammers are leveraging AI to impersonate customer service agents, generate synthetic identities, and bypass standard security measures. By now, many users have likely received a call from someone posing as an authority figure or requesting sensitive information under false pretenses. But today’s fraudsters are going far beyond cold calls, using AI to mine personal details about their targets, including names of friends and relatives, to craft highly convincing scams that lead to financial loss. In fact, the FTC reported that imposter scams alone cost consumers $2.7 billion in 2023.
The automation and realism enabled by AI make it harder than ever to distinguish between legitimate interactions and malicious ones, as threats that are even harder to distinguish are scaling at unprecedented paces.
How to ensure legitimate trust and weed out such dormant attackers? Stronger identity vetting can go a long way in ensuring a trustworthy platform (dating, professional networks, social media).
AI Fighting Back: Fraud Detection and Biometric Verification
Fortunately, the same technology fueling these threats can also serve as a powerful defense. AI-powered identity verification is emerging as a highly effective way to fight fraud, particularly in high-risk scenarios and highly regulated sectors.
Modern identity verification tactics, such as combining AI, biometrics, and real-time document verification, help protect both businesses and users. Enterprises are deploying advanced features such as automatically verifying government-issued IDs and matching them against selfies using facial recognition. This helps companies flag manipulated images, mismatched identities, and fraudulent documents within seconds.
This automated process not only improves accuracy and fraud detection but also helps organizations comply with global regulations and provide a seamless user onboarding experience for users. Let’s take a look at these capabilities in action.
AI’s Impact on Identity Security in Action
A global leader in online gaming previously relied on manual KYC checks, which was too slow for the pace of business, error-prone and left the company vulnerable to fraud and churn. When searching for a more advanced identity verification solution, this enterprise prioritized performance, user experience, and flexibility.
Since adopting modern identity verification tactics, the company has seen a significant transformation. AI-driven ID verification and biometric selfie checks now enable the verification of users in real time across multiple jurisdictions. In Germany, where gaming regulations are especially strict, selfie-based verification ensures compliance while maintaining a fast and friendly user experience.
Fintech Scalability with Security
As of 2024, 93% of fintech companies find it challenging to remain compliant. In such a sensitive industry, compliance and security is crucial to protecting customers and brand reputation. With the right AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, enterprises in the financial services industry remain not only compliant and secure, but provide a faster, friendlier experience to their users.
A Bulgarian fintech enterprise, for example, needed a quicker and more scalable onboarding process. Previously, customers had to go through a five-minute video chat with an agent to open an account. As the company expanded across over 30 European markets, this approach became unsustainable.
Since adopting modern identity verification measures, this fintech organization now verifies customers in seconds using AI-powered ID and selfie verification. Pass rates are higher, security hasn’t been compromised, and the company saw a 35% boost in conversions within the first year. This gives the enterprise the ability to easily verify customers in all its markets with minimal effort.
A Tech Arms Race
AI is undeniably changing the face of cybersecurity. While fraudsters continue to develop more convincing and scalable attacks, organizations that leverage AI-powered identity verification are staying a step ahead. AI’s positive impact in cybersecurity across gaming, fintech, and other industries illustrates how advanced biometric technology can be a powerful shield against evolving threats.
For organizations looking to build trust, ensure compliance, and keep fraudsters at bay, investing in AI-driven solutions is no longer optional, it’s essential
