Digital fraud has become a real headache for Spanish banks. Its increase and sophistication through the use of artificial intelligence tools make it increasingly difficult to combat cybercriminals, and the sector perceives that this type of fraud is on the rise in our country. According to the report "The Future of Digital Trust: AI Agents and the Speed of Fraud and Financial Crime" by BioCatch, the sector unanimously confirms that "fraud attempts are increasing," contrasting with the global opinion where 81% of experts believe that cyber theft is on the rise.
Naturally, these data translate into greater losses for financial institutions. Just over half of Spanish banks acknowledge suffering annual losses exceeding ¤23 million a year due to these digital frauds. And "the impact also reaches the end customer. 53% of the surveyed entities state that their clients also suffer losses exceeding ¤23 million (equivalent to $25 million) annually due to frauds and authorized scams, where the victim ends up validating an operation after being manipulated by increasingly sophisticated social engineering techniques," the document states.
The development of artificial intelligence in the hands of cybercriminals is an increasingly relevant problem. "Fraud has become more complex, with more automated, personalized attacks that are difficult to distinguish from legitimate operations," says BioCatch. In fact, two out of three professionals admit that it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between legitimate and fraudulent activity, posing one of the main challenges for prevention teams.
One associated problem is that financial institutions are late in detecting fraud, as stated in the report. Six out of 10 firms do not identify 'mule accounts' in time, where the money is moved once the scam has occurred and where it is more difficult to recover. This is double the rate compared to global entities, according to the survey. The consultancy firm points out that these accounts, used by criminal networks to receive, move, and hide money, "are usually in the name of recruited or deceived individuals, or intermediaries who assist in the movement of funds without always knowing their origin," it concludes.