Digital fraud is advancing at a rapid pace and challenging trust in the global financial system. In Brazil, increasingly sophisticated scams have become part of consumers’ daily lives. Among the most common practices are opening bank accounts with fake documents, online purchases under someone else’s name, payment account breaches, card cloning, and even the use of deepfake-manipulated videos to deceive family members, friends, and businesses.
According to the report “The Future of Finance 2025” by Veriff, a leading identity verification company that recently opened a tech hub in São Paulo, the number of fraudulent attempts grew by 21% in a one-year period between 2024 and 2025. In Brazil, 69.5% of companies already use artificial intelligence to combat fraud, while 16.5% are in the process of implementation—but the scenario remains concerning. According to a recent survey by Serasa Experian, the country recorded over one million fraud attempts for the second consecutive month in 2025, highlighting the urgency for investments in stricter identity verification and risk prevention solutions.
Financial services remain among the primary targets for criminals. Further data from Veriff’s research shows that, in just the past year, one in every twenty verification attempts involved someone trying to impersonate another person—a type of scam that, without adequate technological support, can result in million-dollar losses for companies and consumers. In the U.S., 35% of financial sector companies reported financial losses, with 13% indicating impacts of up to 20% of their annual revenue. During the same period, 47.5% of consumers reported experiencing some form of online fraud.
Kaarel Kotkas, founder and CEO of Veriff and one of Northern Europe’s 25 most influential young entrepreneurs, explains that the financial sector remains the primary target for criminals due to the potential for quick financial gains. He emphasizes the need for proactive measures to prevent crime. ‘Our mission is to ensure real people can access services while criminals are intelligently and scalably blocked, even in the face of increasingly sophisticated threats.’
AI as both a threat and a solution
Artificial intelligence, however, is a game-changer in this scenario. While it is increasingly used in attacks—60.5% of respondents reported a rise in AI-powered scams, and 31.94% of Americans have been targeted by deepfake fraud—, the technology has also become a key ally in risk prevention. Solutions like digital identity verification and biometrics are already in use at 83% of companies, with another 81% planning to expand their adoption of these technologies.
Digital trust as a competitive advantage
For Andrea Rozenberg, General Manager of Veriff in Brazil, digital trust has become a decisive factor for competitiveness, especially in high-risk sectors like finance, payments, and cryptocurrencies, which experience fraud rates nearly twice the global average. ‘The future of financial services will be defined by companies’ ability to protect their clients in an increasingly digital environment. Biometrics are a powerful tool, but they cannot stand alone. Authentication must combine multiple layers of verification and risk intelligence to truly safeguard the global financial ecosystem. The combination of AI-powered verification, biometrics, and continuous authentication is essential to building secure and reliable experiences,’ she states.
Today, there are already solutions capable of identifying manipulated images, performing advanced biometric analyses, detecting abnormal behavioral patterns, and reinforcing real-time user authentication—making artificial intelligence the primary shield against fraud. ‘With attacks growing in sophistication, we expect that in the coming years, technologies like deepfake detection, continuous authentication, and real-time identity verification will become even more strategic in protecting businesses and consumers,’ adds Andrea.
