The newly released report “The Trust Ledger: Transaction & Identity Fraud Bulletin” offers a comprehensive look at impersonation and fraud in the post-AI digital economy.
Proof, the leading identity authorization network, today released “The Trust Ledger: Transaction & Identity Fraud Bulletin,” a report offering a comprehensive look at the state of identity fraud, and unpacking the new fraud economy. The report draws on Proof’s proprietary platform data, threat research, and feedback from fraud leaders across sectors to highlight how generative AI, synthetic identities, and stolen credentials are fueling a fraud epidemic that is growing faster than traditional defenses can respond.
FBI statistics show that internet crime losses reached $16 billion in 2024, a 33% year-over-year increase. But Proof’s data suggests the true scale may be far larger, especially as attacks grow more targeted and harder to detect. “Fraud today doesn’t look like it did five years ago. It’s synthetic, it’s autonomous, and it’s scaling,” said Pat Kinsel, CEO of Proof. “We’re seeing high-risk interactions involving billions in assets—across industries that never considered themselves fraud targets before. Therefore, trust must now be engineered. In a world where identity can be convincingly faked and monetized at scale, businesses, consumers, and policymakers must urgently adapt.”
Despite growing concern, many organizations lack clear metrics for tracking or quantifying fraud. In Proof’s survey of fraud leaders and enterprise customers, nearly 30% of respondents said they have no reliable way to measure fraud across their systems. The majority reported an increase in fraud attempts, with AI-generated forgeries, document tampering, and impersonation among the most commonly cited tactics.
“The threat landscape has changed,” said John Heasman, Chief Information Security Officer at Proof. “We’re not just seeing more fraud—we’re seeing a different kind of fraud. AI tools are making it easier to fake documents, mimic voices, and defeat legacy systems. We need to modernize our defenses around real-time detection, high-assurance identity, and smarter fraud signals.”
Key Findings:
Who’s Impacted
- Older adults are both the most targeted and the most proactive in protecting themselves from identity fraud. Proof data shows nearly twice as many identity verification users aged 60–64 as there are aged 20–24.
- Fraud is shifting from payments to broader operations. Property managers, HR teams, and utility companies are all reporting a spike in identity-based fraud.
The New Fraud Economy
- Synthetic identities—created by blending real and fake information—are increasingly bypassing traditional KYC checks using AI-generated documents and matching selfies.
- Fraudsters are abusing legitimate tools, including access to platforms like TLOxp, originally intended for law enforcement and financial institutions.
- Stolen identity “fullz” sell for as little as $3 on the dark web, with infostealer malware and commercial credential marketplaces fueling a data supply chain that empowers large scale fraud-as-a-service operators.
- Generative AI tools like FraudGPT and WormGPT are explicitly marketed for use in phishing, malware creation, and social engineering campaigns. Subscription prices for these tools start for as little as $200 per month.
The report also outlines a modern policy framework to help address the rise in AI-powered fraud attempts, including streamlining access to critical technologies and redesigning fraud prevention—especially in high-risk industries like finance, healthcare, and energy.
Proof’s platform, including its AI-powered Defend product, now processes millions of high-risk transactions every month, detecting deepfakes, synthetic identities, and credential tampering in real time using over 100 distinct risk signals.