Inquiring Subscribers: Which fraudulent activities pose the greatest risks in terms of severe regulatory fines and substantial financial losses?

Welcome to this week's discussion, where we delve into the most harmful types of fraud and the strategies to prevent them. Our Chief Product Officer, Andrew Novoselsky, will lead the conversation every other Thursday as part of Sumsub's bi-weekly Q&A series.

The series will feature experts answering frequently asked questions about regulatory compliance, verification, and automated solutions. Participants are encouraged to submit their own questions to make the most of this insightful event.

This week's topic focuses on the fraud types that pose the greatest risks in terms of regulatory penalties and monetary losses. Let's take a closer look at the five most dangerous fraud types and their practical prevention strategies.

Phishing, Spear-phishing, and Whaling

These deceptive emails or messages aim to steal credentials, leading to data breaches, ransomware, or unauthorized transactions. Spear-phishing and whaling specifically target executives or high-profile individuals, causing high-impact data leaks or fund transfers.

Prevention strategies include using multi-factor authentication (MFA), employee awareness training, email filtering with AI threat detection, and real-time anomaly detection in communications.

AI-driven Deepfake and Real-time Impersonation Scams (e.g., Deep-Live-Cam)

Fraudsters use deepfake video tools to impersonate executives in live calls to trick employees into urgent payments. A notable case in 2024 saw a $25 million loss due to such an attack.

To prevent these scams, implement strict verification protocols for payment requests, such as callback confirmations via known channels, limit authority on urgent fund transfers, and train staff to recognize social engineering tactics beyond email.

Remote Access Trojans (RATs) and Fileless Malware (e.g., Remcos, DarkGate, Ratenjay)

These malware types often distributed via phishing or disguised files gain stealthy control over victim systems to steal credentials, monitor banking sessions, or exfiltrate data, commonly culminating in large-scale fraud or ransomware.

Preventive measures include maintaining up-to-date endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools, employing network segmentation, enforcing least privilege access, disabling macros in office documents by default, and conducting regular system audits.

Job Scams and Identity Theft

Job scams lure victims with fake employment offers to extract sensitive data like Social Security numbers, bank info, or IDs, which fraudsters then use for synthetic identities, money laundering, or credit fraud.

To prevent these scams, educate job seekers and HR staff about red flags, verify job postings and employers thoroughly, limit the sharing of sensitive data upfront, and use robust identity verification tools.

Ransomware with Multi-Extortion Tactics

Beyond encrypting data, ransomware groups threaten to leak stolen info or conduct DDoS attacks on victims and their customers. This raises regulatory risks and business damages significantly.

Prevention strategies include implementing frequent data backups with offline copies, segmenting networks to contain breaches, deploying advanced threat detection, and preparing incident response plans including ransomware negotiations and regulatory communications.

Regulatory penalties escalate with data breaches affecting customer privacy, financial losses, and failure to comply with cybersecurity laws such as GDPR, HIPAA, or sector-specific rules. Organizations suffering these frauds often face fines, remediation costs, reputational damage, and class-action suits.

By combining technical controls, employee education, and verification procedures, companies can significantly reduce their risk and exposure to the most costly and dangerous frauds identified in 2025.

Download the complete report for more information about the current state of fraud detection and identity theft. The discussion will be posted on Sumsub's Instagram and LinkedIn. Stay tuned for the next episode of the Q&A series every other Thursday.

Inquiring Subscribers: Which fraudulent activities pose the greatest risks in terms of severe regulatory fines and substantial financial losses?