Quicker, nimbler scammers outrun Asian banks in cyberfraud ‘arms race’

Banks across Asia are pouring billions into artificial intelligence systems to detect fraud, but regulators and analysts say the region is still losing ground to nimble and adaptable scam syndicates using the same technology to find new ways to steal money.

AI is now central to how lenders monitor transactions, screen sanctions and verify customers, helping them flag suspicious activity faster. Yet experts say the systems remain limited by what data they are trained on and by how quickly criminals adapt.

The Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB), Malaysia’s professional body for the banking industry, has warned that financial crime is evolving “at an unprecedented rate”.

“AI, virtual assets and deepfake technologies have opened new frontiers of risk and deception – demanding that our vigilance evolves as swiftly as the threats we face,” AICB Chairman Azman Hashim said at the group’s annual conference in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

In Malaysia alone, more than 573 million ringgit (US$130 million) was lost to scams in the first quarter of this year – up 13 per cent from a year earlier – and nearly 1.9 billion ringgit by September, according to AICB data. Across East and Southeast Asia, cyber-enabled fraud wiped out as much as US$37 billion last year, with phishing, investment scams and identity theft among the most common tactics.