Cyber fraud has skyrocketed from a growing concern to the leading driver of payment fraud in the UK, infiltrating most businesses in the country and exposing them to previously unimagined financial and operational risks.
This was one of the findings of Trustpair’s 2025 Fraud Report, Fraud in the Cyber Era: 2025 UK Fraud Trends & Insights, which revealed that an eye-watering more than nine out of ten businesses suffered attempted fraud in the past year, and 42% fell victim to at least two successful attacks.
Counterintuitively, many executives are overly confident in their ability to detect and prevent fraud, completely underestimating the determination of adversaries, and the sophistication of AI-driven scams.
With 79% of executives ranking cyber risks as their top concern for 2025, the financial stakes are higher than ever. The ubiquity of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), deepfakes, and business email compromise (BEC) is fueling a new era of cyber fraud that is outpacing conventional security measures.
A Growing Business Threat
Cyber fraud has risen to the top of the threat list and is putting UK firms in harm’s way. And, as attack methods become more advanced, complex, and difficult to detect, the situation will only get worse.
Trustpair’s report unpacks the staggering scale of the issue:
93% of UK businesses reported experiencing attempted payment fraud in the past year.
42% of targeted companies suffered at least two successful fraud incidents.
48% of finance leaders identify cyber-attacks as their biggest hurdle in fraud prevention.
Malefactors are leveraging AI-driven tools to craft highly realistic scams that slip through traditional security nets. These attacks are successful, there is no doubt, meaning that outdated fraud prevention strategies cannot hope to protect businesses adequately. Without comprehensive, technology-driven defenses, entities leave themselves wide open to a constantly evolving cyber threat landscape.
The New Era of Attacks
In fact, AI has completely transformed the fraud landscape, making attacks infinitely more precise and scalable. Above-mentioned GenAI, deepfake videos, and voice cloning are helping scammers execute scams so highly convincing that they defy all but the closest scrutiny and have no trouble flying under the security radar.
A prime example is the evolution of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. Once easy to spot, thanks to poorly worded emails, these attacks now leverage AI-generated messages that convincingly mimic executive communication styles, company-specific terminology, and speech patterns. These scams are particularly heinous because they exploit human trust and procedural gaps in payment processes.
Key findings from the Trustpair report show how businesses are responding:
65% have invested in cybersecurity technology to protect against AI-driven fraud.
62% are conducting cybersecurity awareness training for finance and treasury teams.
43% are restricting payment authority to reduce exposure.
However, reactive measures such as employee training and manual verification are no longer enough—entities need to invest in automated fraud detection systems that can analyze behavioral anomalies and detect AI-generated fraud attempts in real-time.
The Cost of Inaction
Payment fraud is not just a cybersecurity issue—it is a major financial risk. The Trustpair report reveals that:
21% of companies that suffered successful fraud attacks reported financial losses of at least £500,000 per incident.
94% of businesses have increased investment in fraud prevention technologies, with 44% making significant upgrades.
Despite these investments, fraud continues to flourish due to gaps in security infrastructure. Firms that fail to adopt proactive fraud prevention measures put themselves in danger of severe financial losses, not to mention damage to customer trust. The cost of inaction is prohibitive, making it imperative for organizations to rethink their fraud defense strategies.
Overconfidence vs. Reality
Another of the report’s key findings is the growing chasm between executive confidence and the harsh reality. While leadership teams may feel secure in their fraud prevention measures, the data tells a different story—proving that overconfidence can come back to bite when it comes to cyber fraud.
97% of decision-makers believe their employees can identify advanced fraud tactics.
44% of executives are “very confident” in their fraud prevention strategies.
Yet, 73% of businesses anticipate an increase in fraud risk in 2025.
Inevitably, this overconfidence leads to complacency, leaving businesses sitting ducks to advanced cyber fraud techniques. While training and education are essential, they must be supplemented with automated fraud detection systems and strict internal controls to close security gaps.
A Unified, Company-Wide Approach
As cyber fraud tactics become more sophisticated, UK businesses are shifting toward a more integrated fraud prevention approach. The report highlights key defense strategies:
55% of companies invest in fraud awareness training.
68% promote collaboration between finance, treasury, IT, and procurement teams.
49% deploy fraud prevention software alongside vendor verification processes.
One particularly effective measure is Confirmation of Payee (CoP), a system that verifies payment recipients before transactions are processed. Adoption rates are high:
77% of businesses use CoP to prevent fraud.
96% agree that CoP is effective in reducing fraudulent transactions.
However, CoP alone is not enough—particularly for entities with offices worldwide. While it works well within specific markets, firms need comprehensive fraud prevention frameworks that integrate AI-driven monitoring, real-time payment verification, and multi-layered security controls.
A Decisive Shift
The 2025 fraud landscape demands a decisive shift in how businesses protect themselves. With 93% of companies targeted by cyber fraud and AI-driven swindles becoming the norm, relying on outdated fraud prevention methods is no longer viable.
Key takeaways for businesses include investing in AI-powered fraud detection to counter AI-driven scams, strengthening internal controls by limiting manual payment processes and restricting payment authority, expanding fraud verification processes beyond high-risk situations to cover all transactions, and enhancing cross-departmental collaboration to create a unified fraud prevention strategy.
As malefactors carry on innovating, businesses must too, by adopting sophisticated defense mechanisms. By harnessing the benefits of automation, AI-driven detection, and real-time verification, UK entities can better mitigate the risks of cyber fraud and protect their financial futures.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this and other guest author articles are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect those of Tripwire.
