• Visa’s Spring 2026 Biannual Threats Report flagged scams as the fastest-growing source of consumer harm, driven by AI-enabled social engineering that pushes victims to authorize payments.
• From July to December 2025, Visa identified nearly USD 1 billion in scam-related activity, making scams the largest category of consumer payment fraud in its analysis.
• Fraud involving device tokens fell 9.6% versus the same period a year earlier, pointing to stronger network-level controls even as attackers shift toward exploiting human behavior.
• Global ransomware activity rose 26% over the same year-earlier period, while the share of victims paying ransoms dropped to 23%, the lowest rate on record in the report.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Visa Inc. published the original content used to generate this news brief on May 20, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.