Visual fraud statistics. The 2026 figures, with their sources.

of U.S. consumers would consider altering an image or document to strengthen a claim. Among Gen Z, 55%.⁠¹

increase between 2021-22 and 2022-23 in cases with images, videos and documents altered with apps detected by Allianz UK.⁠⁵

of fraud attacks on merchants already use AI, and claims with fabricated damage are the fastest-growing form of return abuse.⁠⁶

is the value of the fake image detection market in 2026. It could reach $7.43 billion by 2031.⁠⁷

accuracy for 136 people judging evidence photos made with the most advanced AI generators. Across all images, 64.8%.⁠²

accuracy for study participants classifying images as real or AI-generated.⁠⁸

accuracy across 287,000 judgments by more than 12,500 people in a real-vs-fake image game.⁠⁹

of claims professionals feel very confident they can identify a deepfake. 98% believe AI editing is driving fraud.⁠¹

in fraudulent claims detected by UK insurers in 2025, across 93,900 cases. More than half were motor.⁠⁴

was the average fraudulent claim in the UK in 2025, the second highest on record.⁠¹⁰

in proven fraud in Brazil in 2024, out of R$ 5.4 billion in suspicious claims.⁠¹¹

of earned premiums in Brazil was proven fraud in 2025, up from 1.8% in 2021.⁠¹²

of the fraud cases AXA detected in Spain in 2024 were real claims with added damage.⁠¹³

growth in fraud detected by Admiral in 2025, to £86.8 million. Cases included car photos edited with a different number plate.⁠¹⁴

across 18,400 suspicious claims uncovered by Aviva in 2025.⁠¹⁵

is the yearly cost of insurance fraud in the United States.⁠¹⁶

of online merchants suffered refund and policy abuse in the past year: the most widespread type of fraud.⁠³

of merchants saw refund abuse grow in the past year. 20% reported increases of more than 25%.⁠³

of merchants suffered false “item not received” claims, the most common form of refund abuse.⁠³

of consumer-side fraud on delivery and ride-hailing platforms was refund abuse.⁠¹⁷

of gig economy fraud teams say stopping multi-accounting is their priority.⁠¹⁸

of merchants received returns of used or damaged products. 29% received counterfeit products.⁠³

in merchandise U.S. consumers will return in 2025: 15.8% of sales. Online, 19.3%.⁠¹⁹

in preventable losses from return fraud and abuse in retail in 2025, 14.2% of all returns.⁠²⁰

subscribers on the Telegram channel of REKK, a ring that sold fraudulent refunds for a 30% commission.⁠²¹

of their fraud chargebacks and disputes are won by Latin American merchants, versus 16.7% globally.⁠³

of an average company’s warranty costs can come from fraudulent claims. Those costs usually equal 1% to 4% of sales.⁠²²

of more than 75,000 auto warranty verifications was flagged as highly suspicious: $8.1 million in potential fraud.⁠²³

warranty claims verified by OtterBox with authenticated photos in under four months.⁠²⁴

pieces of content already carry Google’s invisible watermark. It only works for content made with its tools.⁠²⁵

of fake images were detected by Taobao and Tmall’s after-sales model, according to reports.⁠²⁶

the EU AI Act’s transparency obligations on AI-generated content took effect.⁠²⁷

the C2PA content credentials standard was created, backed by Adobe, Arm, BBC, Intel, Microsoft and Truepic.⁠²⁸