Fraud examiners anticipate future with generative AI, ACFE/SAS Report shows

Anti-fraud professionals across the globe expect generative artificial intelligence (AI) to be part of their fraud-fighting arsenals in the future, according to the 2024 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report. In fact, an impressive 83% of respondents surveyed for the study anticipate that their organizations will add this technology to their anti-fraud initiatives over the next two years.

The anti-fraud technology study, a collaboration between the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and data analytics platform, SAS, surveyed 1,200 ACFE members in late 2023 about the technologies they and their organizations use in their anti-fraud initiatives. Now in its third edition, the report provides a detailed analysis of the current trends in fraud-fighting technologies and directions that organizations are looking to take with those technologies.

While stories of fraudsters carrying out schemes with generative AI proliferate in the news, the latest technology report from the ACFE and SAS underscores the pace of technological evolution and the strategic imperative for organizations to adopt a proactive and informed approach to integrating AI into their anti-fraud programs. Insight from this report shows that while fraud examiners are enthusiastic about generative AI — deep-learning artificial intelligence models used to produce almost-life-like images, videos, audio and text — there’s a lag between that enthusiasm and actual practice. Nearly one in five — 18% — of anti-fraud professionals say they currently use AI and machine learning (ML) in their work. And, according to the report, adoption of AI and ML for fraud detection and prevention has grown only 5% since 2019, when the anti-fraud technology report was first published.

Stu Bradley, SAS’s senior vice president of Risk, Fraud and Compliance Solutions, explains that the lag between enthusiasm for AI and ML and their adoption by organizations highlights the complexities that organizations face in scaling technologies to fit their anti-fraud programs and choosing the right technology partner.

“AI and machine learning aren’t simple, plug-and-play applications,” says Bradley. However, he says that organizations can realize the benefits of AI and machine learning by deploying modularized solutions — building a complex system from smaller parts that can be adapted or configured accordingly — on a single, AI-powered platform. (See “What is a Good Modular System?” by Tobias Martin, Modular Management.)

As they weigh adding AI and ML to their fraud-fighting rosters, respondents say they’re considering these factors: 85% of organizations say the accuracy of generative AI results is a very important or important factor in this decision. Security risks and vulnerabilities also clocked in at 83% as a very important or important factor. And, 77% of organizations say that staff having the requisite skills to use these technologies factors in greatly when determining whether to adopt them.

ACFE President John Gill, J.D., CFE, illuminates the imperative that fraud fighters have to invest in AI and ML — it’s a matter of beating fraudsters at their own game.

The 2024 Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report serves as a guide through the intricacies of adopting new technologies, and SAS’s online dashboard provides a deep dive into the data as users can analyze the anti-fraud technology landscape by industry, geographic region and company size. The report, coupled with SAS’s data dashboard, can help users determine whether they’re making strategic investments and considering ethical applications of new tools to fortify their defenses against fraud.

Rihonna Scoggins is the content manager for the ACFE. Contact her at RScoggins@ACFE.com.