2025 U.S. Fraud Report: 68% of Banks Turn to AI as Financial Crime Grows More Sophisticated

Financial fraud tactics continue to evolve, with unauthorized third-party fraud accounting for a markedly larger share of cases at U.S. banks. Research by PYMNTS Intelligence and payments technology company Block found that rules-based systems, which use fixed conditions to block transactions, struggle to identify rapidly changing attack patterns in real time. This is prompting banks to strengthen their defenses with AI and behavioral analytics.

A survey released in 2025 found that 68% of U.S. banks had turned to AI technology as fraud began moving faster than traditional rules-based systems could handle. Banks are using transaction and customer behavior data to identify unusual activity while reducing false positives and response times. The report did not disclose total industry-wide investment, but indicated that AI is gradually moving from an experimental tool to a primary fraud-prevention measure.