UK Fraud Strategy 2026-29 targets AI, synthetic IDs

UK officials and industry experts told a webinar on 9 June that the Fraud Strategy 2026-29 will require banks, fintechs, telcos and online platforms to share early-warning intelligence and upgrade identity systems to address synthetic identities, AI-driven impersonation and real-time payment abuse.

The strategy covers 2026–2029 and sets out a system-wide approach asking public and private organisations to detect criminal innovation earlier and work together to prevent loss. The webinar previewed sessions scheduled for a conference in London on 8 July where regulators, banks and technology firms will discuss operational changes linked to the strategy.

Panelists at the webinar included Robert Eastick, director and crypto lead at iSanctuary; Dr Roger Miles, consulting behavioural analyst; Sandra Blaga, AI industry solutions lead at Swift; and Megan Jenkins, policy and public affairs manager at Innovate Finance. The session outlined immediate operational expectations and where firms must focus work before the strategy takes effect.

Panelists set out three near-term expectations for regulated firms. Firms must improve the timeliness and detail of intelligence shared across sectors so patterns of criminal behaviour can be detected before large-scale loss occurs. Identity systems must evolve to detect synthetic IDs and AI-generated impersonation using tools such as behavioural biometrics, continuous authentication and stronger checks of identity attributes. Payments infrastructure must adopt governance and technical controls to secure instant transfers while limiting friction that would harm customer experience or economic activity.

Participants pointed to why current data-sharing models do not deliver early warning. Problems cited included fragmented data formats, legal and privacy constraints, and commercial incentives that discourage sharing richer transaction and device signals in real time. Operational gaps included slow manual reporting processes, limited cross-industry standards for threat indicators, and the lack of trusted national platforms to route intelligence quickly between banks, fintechs, telcos and law enforcement.

On identity, experts warned that synthetic identities and deepfake tools are moving ahead of legacy checks that rely on static documents or one-off verifications. They recommended combining device and behavioural signals, tokenisation and ongoing authentication and running predictive analytics on cloud-native fraud platforms to spot anomalies such as coordinated small losses across institutions or rapid reuse of identity fragments.

Instant payments were highlighted as an operational challenge because faster settlement removes time banks previously used to detect suspicious flows. The strategy is expected to press firms to adopt real-time risk scoring, transaction throttling controls and clearer escalation routes to stop abuse quickly. Panelists said investment will be needed in both technology and governance, including rules for when payments should be held for investigation and how disputes are handled.

Speakers also addressed overlaps between anti-money-laundering obligations and risks in digital assets and decentralised finance. They said DeFi and non-custodial services can create blind spots for AML systems and flagged the potential for quantum developments to affect cryptographic protections over the next decade. Firms with crypto exposure were urged to map those risks into their broader financial crime programmes and pilot controls that work across fiat and crypto rails.

The webinar suggested near-term actions for firms including strengthening cross-sector information-sharing frameworks, adopting machine learning and behavioural biometrics for continuous identity assurance, investing in cloud-native fraud and payments platforms for faster rule updates, and engaging regulators on standards for real-time intelligence exchange. Organisers said the July conference will continue practical discussions on governance models and operational changes required by the strategy.