SAN FRANCISCO -- Visa’s critical investments in the fight against fraud are paying off for holiday shoppers this holiday season. On Cyber Monday alone, Visa blocked nearly 85% more suspected fraud globally compared to last year.[1] Throughout the holiday weekend, suspected fraudulent transactions rose 200% around the world, due in part by the adoption of AI by fraudsters.[2]

Over the past five years, Visa has invested $11 billion in cutting-edge technology to combat fraud. This holiday season, as shoppers flocked to both physical and digital stores, fraudsters were also on the move. However, Visa’s advanced AI and machine learning capabilities were hard-at-work combatting their efforts.

“Although crooks are using AI more and more, so are we. And that’s paying off,” said Paul Fabara, Chief Risk and Client Services Officer at Visa. “As we saw during the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, Visa continues to thwart more attempts at fraud from these bad actors, continuing our mission to be the safest way to pay and be paid for everyone, everywhere.”

As shoppers got their physical and digital carts ready for the seasonal sales, fraudsters ramped up their efforts, using the latest in AI and machine learning technology to attempt big monetary returns on their scams. Tools like the Visa Account Attack Intelligence Score, which launched earlier this year, leverage generative AI to stop fraud before it happens - wherever and however you’re shopping.