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A PYMNTS Intelligence report based on a July 2026 survey of 90 U.S. financial-services executives says scams accounted for 22.4% of fraud dollars, up from 12% in 2025. Scams and compromised credentials together represented 50.6% of fraud dollars, while surveyed institutions reported widespread use of detection tools and persistent difficulty integrating systems.
Scams accounted for 22.4% of fraud dollars reported in a PYMNTS Intelligence survey, up from 12% in 2025, according to a report published October 16. The findings point to a shift in the fraud mix: criminals are exploiting customer trust and stolen credentials, which can make a payment look legitimate even when the person or account behind it has been manipulated.
The report, Scams Get Personal: Why Banks Pay More to Fight Fraud, draws on a July 2026 survey of 90 executives at U.S. banks, credit unions and FinTechs. It says scams and compromised credentials together accounted for 50.6% of fraud dollars, compared with 27.6% two years earlier. The figures describe shares of fraud dollars, not the number of incidents or the total value of fraud across the industry.
Within that mix, account takeover using stolen credentials represented 28.2% of fraud dollars. PYMNTS Intelligence says the share grew 82%, though the report excerpt does not specify the comparison period for that growth. Physical forgery and counterfeit fraud, by contrast, fell to 6.1% of fraud dollars. The report also says relationship or trust fraud—where a criminal first builds rapport with a victim—more than doubled its share, rising from 6% to 12.6%.
The surveyed institutions reported broad use of fraud tools: all respondents said they used systems for behavioral analysis, device identification and identity verification based on personal information. 96% also used machine learning and artificial intelligence. But deploying tools does not mean they are well integrated. The report says 78% cited complexity in new technology systems as their top barrier to innovation, up from 48% a year earlier.
Why Payment Approval Is Not Enough
The findings highlight a gap between confirming that a customer can access an account and determining whether a particular payment is safe. A valid login may belong to a criminal using stolen credentials; a real customer may also approve a transfer after being deceived. In either case, checks focused mainly on access or explicit approval may not reveal the circumstances surrounding the transaction.
For customers, scams can result in money being sent from their own accounts, rather than a transaction being blocked as unauthorized. For financial institutions, the change in fraud composition puts pressure on defenses to assess behavior and payment context, not just identity signals. The report presents this as an opportunity for banks and other institutions to build on existing detection capabilities; it does not establish that any one approach will prevent a specified amount of fraud.
Integration is a practical constraint. If detection systems do not work effectively together, institutions may find it harder to use the data they already collect. The report’s findings suggest that connecting existing tools and improving communication with customers are areas receiving attention, but do not measure the results of those efforts across the industry.
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A Changing Mix of Fraud Methods
The survey describes a change from physical forms of fraud toward scams and credential-based attacks. Scams’ share of fraud dollars rose from 12% in 2025 to 22.4% in 2026, a 10.4 percentage-point increase. The report says relationship or trust fraud’s share increased from 6% to 12.6% over the period it compares, while counterfeit and physical forgery declined to 6.1%.
The report also points to changes in planned bank responses. Improved customer communication was the leading planned investment for the coming year, cited by 78% of institutions, compared with 41% previously. Among institutions using machine learning, 86% said it helped them catch problems proactively, up from 25% in 2025. These are survey responses about plans and perceived effectiveness, not independently measured reductions in losses.
“Scams and compromised credentials together account for 50.6% of fraud dollars, up from 27.6% two years earlier.”
— PYMNTS Intelligence report
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Limits of the Survey Findings
The report’s statistics come from a survey of 90 executives, not a census of all financial institutions or a direct count of every fraud case. The source material does not provide the survey’s full methodology, the dollar totals behind the percentages, or a detailed definition of how respondents classified each fraud category. The reported shares should not be read as the proportion of all transactions that were fraudulent.
The report also does not specify the comparison period behind the stated 82% growth in account takeover’s share, or show whether that increase reflects changes in incident volume, losses per incident or both. It offers no outcome data showing how much planned customer communication or machine-learning use has reduced fraud losses. The figures describe survey findings and respondent assessments; their wider representativeness and real-world effect remain unclear.
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Banks Focus on Connected Defenses
The institutions surveyed plan to give customer communication a larger role in their fraud-prevention spending over the coming year. The report also points to improving how existing behavioral, identity, device and machine-learning systems work together as a possible near-term focus, given the share of respondents who identified technology complexity as a barrier.
The report does not name a single next milestone or provide a schedule for new rules or product launches. Further evidence would be needed to establish whether these planned investments improve detection or reduce losses, and whether the reported changes in fraud shares continue in later surveys.
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Key Questions
What share of fraud dollars did scams account for?
The report says scams accounted for 22.4% of fraud dollars, up from 12% in 2025.
What does the report mean by relationship or trust fraud?
It describes fraud in which criminals first build a personal rapport with victims. The report says this category’s share of fraud dollars rose from 6% to 12.6%.
How widespread are fraud detection tools among surveyed institutions?
All 90 surveyed institutions reported using tools for behavioral analysis, device identification and identity verification. 96% said they used machine learning and AI.
What is the main technology barrier identified?
78% of respondents cited the complexity of new technology systems as their top barrier to innovation, up from 48% a year earlier.
Do the findings prove that banks’ planned defenses will reduce losses?
No. The report records survey findings, planned investments and respondent assessments. It does not provide measured evidence that those plans have reduced fraud losses.
Source: rss
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