With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), organizations face new fraud risks powered by AI. At the same time, they also have new tools to fight deepfakes, email fraud, check fraud, and other payment fraud.
The risks and challenges of AI present both dangers and opportunities. Fraudsters are leveraging AI tools, but your company can as well. With careful use of AI tools as well as other technologies like Business Process Automation (BPA) software, recorded video calls, and payee validation controls, organizations can successfully combat fraud in the era of artificial intelligence.
Rising Deepfakes and Email Frauds
The Association for Financial Professionals’ 2026 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey found that business email compromise (BEC) continues to be the most common form of payments fraud. According to this survey, BEC affects about 70% of organizations.
With more sophisticated AI tools available to the general public, including Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Claude, fake emails are becoming harder to spot. Fraudsters can run their emails through an LLM to fix grammar errors and make the language more professional before sending them. It used to be that grammar and spelling errors might tip you off that something was wrong, but fakes are harder to catch now.
The technology used for deepfakes is rapidly advancing. AI tools enable fraudsters to mimic communication styles in text and emails or generate video and audio recordings that sound and look like a real person. Only 6% of AFP survey respondents reported being targeted by deepfake fraud, but 40% said “they were unsure whether it had happened to them.” Without specific controls in place, this type of fraud is difficult to detect or prevent.
Checks Continue As A Top Target
BEC might be the most common type of payment fraud, but checks are still the payment method that’s most often targeted. Despite checks’ vulnerabilities, 87% of organizations surveyed by the AFP are still using them. Often, this is outside of the organization’s control because certain vendors and government agencies require check payments.
The AFP survey points to a rise in mail theft and check washing. Payee validation controls can help organizations catch these intercepted and altered checks and block payments to fraudsters. When possible, though, it’s more effective to switch to secure electronic payment methods.
A Case for AI-Powered Fraud Controls
When it comes to fraud, AI isn’t just a danger. It’s also a tool your company can use to help catch and prevent fraud. The 2026 AFP survey found that “Nearly half of the survey respondents who have implemented AI for fraud controls said efficiency in fraud reporting has been enhanced, while others cited the detection of deepfake technology (45%) and real-time identification of suspicious transactions (43%) as most improved.”
Before implementing AI, though, organizations may face obstacles including outdated financial technology and data that isn’t digitized or readily available. Before you invest in AI, it pays to update and streamline your finance processes. For AI tools to work well, you need to feed them timely, accurate, and complete data. That’s hard to come by when your financial processes are mired in manual tasks or haven’t been fully digitized. Implementing BPA software lays a strong foundation for using AI to mitigate fraud risks.
When you’re considering implementing AI, don’t overlook the vital role of employee training. Like other technologies, AI is only as good as the people using it. Employees require training to use AI tools effectively, protect sensitive company data from unsecured AI tools, and spot mistakes that the AI might make.
Other Technology for Combating Fraud
With technology fraudsters can use to produce deepfakes constantly advancing, your company’s best bet isn’t to try to keep ahead of fraudsters by using more and more sophisticated technology. Rather, companies are seeing success from implementing verification procedures that are harder to fake. For example, instead of replying directly to an email or call requesting payment, you can instruct employees to send a new email to a known address or place a new call to a known number to verify details before proceeding with payment. Another way to help combat deepfakes is by recording a video call with every new vendor where they verbally confirm their banking details and legitimacy. Then, those recorded calls will be on record for future verification.
For check fraud, payee validation procedures like Positive Pay are effective means of intercepting fraud. Positive Pay is a service provided by certain banks. To mitigate fraud, banks offering Positive Pay verify checks presented for payment by comparing them to your company’s check register. It helps prevent payments on unauthorized checks.
Payment disbursement software helps your company switch to electronic payments and make more secure check payments. It’s especially effective when integrated into your accounts payable BPA software. NextProcess offers payment solutions that include ACH, wires, check printing, virtual credit cards, and supply chain financing. Just choose how you want to make your payments, and let our system do the rest. You can track payments in real time to confirm delivery, ensuring critical transactions are completed without any mishaps.
The Continuing Need For Traditional Fraud Controls
Despite the important role of technology in combating fraud, most fraud isn’t caught by just one system. In addition to fraud mitigation tools like Positive Pay and automated checks built into the BPA system, human employees are often responsible for catching inconsistencies and noticing fraud. Internal reviews like daily cash reporting, as well as alert employees skeptical enough to follow up on suspicious-looking files, are often responsible for catching fraud.
NextProcess’s BPA software can support your company’s efforts to combat fraud with technology as well as empower employees with the tools they need to catch and prevent fraud. Want to learn more? Contact us today, share your organization’s challenges and goals, and we’ll set up a customized demo so you can see our software in action.
