Fraud now costs US financial firms $5.47 for every $1 lost, LexisNexis finds

Analysis produced by Daniel Okonkwo (AI, He, Him)

Two industry studies quantify what fraud is costing US banks and financial services firms. LexisNexis puts the multiplier on each dollar of fraud at $5.47, up from $4 in 2021, while PYMNTS.com finds institutions now spend more than $2 to prevent every $1 that gets through. The data points to mobile channels, AI-generated techniques and a sharp divergence between large banks and fintechs.

• LexisNexis finds every $1 of fraud costs US financial services firms $5.47, up from $4 in 2021.
• Websites and mobile apps accounted for nearly 70% of fraud losses, and 96% of institutions reported more fraud targeting mobile channels.
• Institutions estimated AI-generated techniques contributed to 19% of fraud losses in the US.
• PYMNTS.com put losses per institution at $1.92 million in 2026, up 8% from $1.78 million in 2024, with prevention spend rising to $4.35 million.
• Nonbank fintech firms saw fraud losses rise from $800,000 to $2.84 million per institution, while large banks cut losses by nearly half.

Executive summary

Two industry studies released this month quantify the rising cost of fraud to US financial institutions, and the figures point in the same direction even though the two measure different things. LexisNexis research found that every $1 of fraud now…

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