When Fraud Looks Like Trust

Why Consumer-Authorized Scams Will Define Financial Crime in 2026

For years, financial institutions have invested heavily in keeping criminals out. Stronger authentication, tokenized credentials, and real-time monitoring have raised the bar for traditional fraud. Those efforts worked. In many cases, breaking into accounts is harder than ever.

But, fraudsters have not been discouraged. They have changed tactics.

As AI accelerates social engineering and impersonation risks, the greatest fraud risk is no longer stolen credentials. It’s stolen confidence. Consumers are increasingly being manipulated into approving transactions themselves, believing they are acting securely. That shift leads to one of MX’s defining predictions for the financial industry in 2026:

The biggest fraud challenge won’t be keeping criminals out. It will be stopping them from convincing consumers to let them in.

The Rise of Consumer-Authorized Scams

Consumer-authorized fraud is growing because it bypasses the very controls financial institutions rely on. Instead of hacking systems, criminals persuade people.

Key signals from recent data highlight how quickly this threat is escalating:

• $12 billion in consumer fraud losses reported by the FTC in 2024, driven largely by imposter scams and investment schemes.
• $16 billion in losses recorded by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center the same year, primarily tied to social engineering.
• $15 billion in projected U.S. authorized push payment fraud losses by 2028, according to Deloitte.
• More than 60% of data breaches involve a human element, as reported by Verizon.

Fraudsters are following the path of least resistance, and today that path runs through human decision making.

Why Stronger Security Isn’t Enough

As traditional fraud entry points become more secure, attackers are exploiting complexity instead. Consumers juggle dozens of apps, alerts, and verification experiences. Between a variety of accounts and apps, consumers are asked to identify an array of inconsistent communications and content.

That inconsistency creates uncertainty. When consumers aren’t sure what real contact looks like, it becomes easier for bad actors to insert themselves convincingly. Gone are the days of Nigerian princes asking for your bank account, fraudsters today can send messages that look and feel like the real thing. 

And like many things, AI amplifies this challenge. Deepfake audio, synthetic identities, and highly personalized phishing make scams look and feel authentic. In fact, according to McAfee Labs, 70% of people aren’t confident they could distinguish a cloned voice from a real one.

The New Fraud Battleground

In 2026, fraud prevention will need to shift focus away from systems and onto behaviors. Success will depend on how well institutions:

• Educate consumers before scams occur.
• Design clearer, more consistent authentication experiences.
• Introduce smarter, contextual warnings at moments of risk.
• Add friction strategically when consumer intent seems uncertain.

The institutions that adapt won’t just stop fraud. They’ll protect trust, the most valuable currency in a financial ecosystem where deception feels increasingly real.

For more on what to look for in the financial industry 2026, check out all of MX’s 2026 predictions.