Report by AFP
2025 Payments Fraud and Control Survey
Key Findings
Business email compromise (BEC) remained the No. 1 avenue for attempted and actual payments fraud in 2024, cited by 63% of respondents.
58% of organisations were able to recoup up to 75% of their funds lost due to payments fraud in 2024, up from 29% in 2023
Wire transfers were the payment method most frequently targeted by BEC scammers in 2024, reported by 63% of respondents, up from 39% in the previous survey.
Checks continue to be the payment method most often subjected to payments fraud, with 63% of respondents experiencing attempted or actual fraud via checks in 2024.
Spoof emails were the most prevalent type of BEC, cited by 79% of respondents.
Vendor imposter fraud, cited by 45% of respondents, saw an 11-percentage-point increase in incidences from the previous survey.
ACH credits saw more BEC scam activity in 2024 than in the prior year, rising to 50% from 47% of respondents reporting incidents.
More than 75% of organisations currently have no plans to reduce check usage in the next two years.
Third-party impersonations, reported by 63% of respondents, remained the most frequent type of BEC scam.
"Classic" BEC scams, saw a significant decline, with 49% of respondents reporting incidents in 2024 compared to 57% in 2023.
79% of organisations were victims of attempted or actual payments fraud activity in 2024. This is down very slightly from 2023.
22% of organisations were able to recover 75% or more of the funds lost due to payments fraud in 2024. This is a sharp decrease from 2023 when 41% of organisations recovered the same amount.