AI Content Quadruples Risk of Online Financial Fraud, Visa Data Shows

Artificial intelligence has changed the mechanics of online fraud so thoroughly that spotting a fake message, a cloned voice of a family member, or a fraudulent bank website has become harder for the average user than it was just a few years ago. Katarzyna Pawlowicz, director of Value Added Services for Central and Eastern Europe at Visa and an expert with the Be.Net program run by the Digital University Foundation, laid out data in an interview with Forsal.pl showing the scale of the problem among Polish internet users.

Voice and video deepfakes, used to impersonate bank employees, company managers, or family members, are no longer a technological curiosity. According to the data cited in the interview, it is haste and excessive trust, not a lack of technical knowledge, that is now the main factor driving victims toward financial losses.

The biggest challenge for internet users today is no longer a lack of technical knowledge, but haste and trusting too quickly - Katarzyna Pawlowicz, director of Value Added Services CEE, Visa

How AI-powered scams work

The fraud mechanism described by the Visa expert looks similar regardless of the channel: a fake message, voice recording, or website mimics a credible source convincingly enough that the victim has neither the time nor the reason to verify its authenticity. Generative tools have lowered the barrier to entry for criminals, who previously needed specialized editing or language skills to produce a convincing fake.

Data cited in the interview shows that one in four Poles shares content on social media without checking whether it is genuine, which further accelerates the spread of false information and phishing links that exploit the image of well-known brands or financial institutions.

The financial and emotional toll

According to the cited data, the average financial loss for a single victim of online fraud in Poland exceeds 615 zlotys. The amount may seem modest compared to high-profile cases involving multimillion losses, but the scale of the phenomenon means the combined losses of Polish consumers add up to tens of millions of zlotys a year. Just as significant is the psychological cost: nearly half of victims report increased anxiety and reduced productivity after an incident.

Education as the response

The Be.Net program, run by the Digital University Foundation with support from Visa, focuses on building digital habits among primary and secondary school students. It has so far reached 260,000 students in hundreds of schools across Poland, with the Visa Foundation contributing a $250,000 grant toward its development. Among other things, the program teaches critical evaluation of online content and basic financial security practices.

What experts recommend

The recommendations laid out in the interview are simple but, according to the expert, still rarely followed in practice: enabling two-factor authentication, keeping apps regularly updated, and making a habit of asking whether a message or request really comes from who it claims to be from before clicking a link or transferring money.

For Polish businesses and financial institutions, the growing effectiveness of AI-assisted fraud means investing not only in fraud-detection systems but also in customer education, since, as the cited data shows, human error rather than a technological gap remains the weakest link.

Sources: Fake AI content increases the risk of online financial fraud (forsal.pl)