Australian lenders are facing a growing financial crime challenge as fraudsters combine established techniques with increasingly accessible generative AI tools, according to Equifax Australia.
The company’s 2026 Fraud Index Report found fraud involving credit products, including credit cards and mortgages, increased 11.1 per cent over the past year, while first-party fraud – where applicants manipulate their own information to obtain credit – jumped 25.5 per cent.
Money muling activity also surged 90.9 per cent as criminal networks exploited individuals to move illicit funds through high-value assets such as mortgages. At the same time, generative AI is lowering the barrier to sophisticated document fraud, with criminals able to create or alter financial documents designed to bypass traditional verification processes. Equifax said the scale and quality of fabricated documents are making it increasingly difficult for individual institutions to identify fraudulent applications in isolation.
To combat this spike, Equifax has announced a new partnership with the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA).
The new collaboration will give participating members access to Equifax’s fraud prevention capabilities and cross-industry intelligence, allowing lenders to identify emerging threats earlier and strengthen their defences.
Equifax said industry-wide intelligence sharing helped block more than $1.5 billion in fraudulent applications last year, but warned that continued collaboration and innovation will be required as fraudsters adopt AI to accelerate and scale their operations.
“A secure financial industry requires teamwork, not isolated defences. Fraudsters don’t just target one business; they look for weak spots across the entire sector,” Tehani Legeay, general manager of digital identity and fraud services at Equifax, said in a statement.
“By providing AFIA with access to secure and compliant fraud data, we create a stronger, unified industry network where an early warning at one institution helps protect the next.
“Fraud in 2026 is no longer just high-tech syndicate operations; the access to inexpensive generative AI tools has made document alteration accessible to anyone.”
Drew Beresford, head of solutions at Equifax, added that the move would be a boon for smaller providers.
“This collaboration with AFIA gives members – especially growing fintechs, non-banks, and mid-tier lenders – immediate, real-time access to cross-industry intelligence,” Beresford said.
“This ensures that smaller institutions have the exact same level of sophisticated, proactive protection as the major banks, enabling a fair, secure, and friction-free experience for legitimate Australian borrowers.”
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?Make Cyber Daily a preferred news source on Google.
