Trust, AI espionage and the new European payment era
Dec/Jan 2026:
The fraud landscape at the turn of the year 2025/2026 shows a clear shift: it’s no longer just about protecting individual transactions, but about maintaining overall customer trust. Our current analysis reveals a massive increase in AI-driven fraud and account takeover attempts, while new European payment solutions like Wero strive to combine security and sovereignty. For fraud managers, this means that prevention must now be approached holistically – from securing identities to educating end users – to minimize the growing risk of customer churn due to fraud.
1. Financial fraud as a trigger for massive customer churn
Article: https://www.pymnts.com/fraud-prevention/2025/financial-scams-are-the-new-customer-churn-crisis-for-banks/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Main%20NL%2011/10&utm_term=Main%20Newsletter
Studies on financial scams show that nearly 40% of US households fall victim to financial fraud, severely damaging trust in banks. The speed with which criminals operate via social media and real-time systems is particularly critical, as two-thirds of victims pay within 24 hours. This issue is crucial for risk managers, as inadequate prevention directly leads to measurable customer churn.
2. AI Models in the Crosshairs: Defending Against Digital Espionage
Article: https://www.anthropic.com/news/disrupting-AI-espionage
Disrupting AI espionage: Anthropic revealed how AI models are being misused to collect sensitive data and prepare sophisticated attacks. The case highlights the need to protect AI systems themselves through stricter access controls and security monitoring. This topic is highly relevant as it redefines the “equality of arms” between attackers and defenders in the field of artificial intelligence.
3. Success for the fake shop finder: Prevention is awarded
Article: https://www.verbraucherzentrale.nrw/pressemeldungen/digitale-welt/fakeshopfinder-erzielt-3-platz-beim-european-crime-prevention-award-114080
The Consumer Center of North Rhine-Westphalia’s “Fake Shop Finder” achieved 3rd place in the 2025 European Crime Prevention Award. Since 2022, 87,000 fraudulent online shops have been identified using the “Fake Shop Finder.” This success underscores the importance of data-driven blacklists and public awareness campaigns for a secure e-commerce ecosystem. For payment providers, this is a crucial signal for excluding criminal merchants from their networks at an early stage.
4. Wero: The starting signal for a sovereign European payment system
With Wero’s launch in German online retail, the establishment of an independent, European payment infrastructure is beginning. The project aims to enable real-time payments without going through US card providers, thereby strengthening local value creation. Payment experts should closely monitor developments, as Wero is posing new challenges for risk management in the area of instant payments.
5. The number of unreported cases of fraud: Why reports are becoming rare
Article: https://www.schufa.de/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/schufa-studie-dritte-fakeshop-opfer-erstattet-anzeige/
According to a SCHUFA study, very few victims of fake online shops report the fraud. Only a third of victims file a police report, which severely hinders prosecution and understanding current scams. This low reporting rate allows criminals to operate undetected for years. The study shows risk managers that internal data sources are often far more valuable than official statistics for grasping the true extent of the threat.
6. Browser Sync Security Risk: Google warns of account loss
Google confirms that account takeovers are on the rise. Attackers are increasingly exploiting browser cloud synchronization to steal passwords, session cookies, and payment data on a massive scale. Google therefore strongly recommends reviewing sync settings and using multi-factor authentication. Since compromised browser data forms the foundation for identity fraud, this vector is one of the biggest threats to online transactions in 2026.
Frank Heisel, CEO of RISK IDENT
2025 was a turning point – AI professionalized fraud.
“2025 showed us just how much AI has professionalized fraud – from deepfakes to automated social engineering. For our clients, this means: prevention must become more visible, faster, and more integrated. This is precisely where we at RISK IDENT come in.
What gives me cause for optimism is the growing unity within the fraud community. Through our Fraud Circles, the online fraud forum, and our exchange with banks, merchants, and platforms, we see how crucial shared insights have become.
2026 will be decisive – those who combine data, identity signals, and community knowledge with solutions like ours not only protect transactions, but above all, customer trust.”
