Facebook, TikTok lead as Deepfake fraud hits $4 billion in six years

Deepfake incidents reached 809 in the first three quarters of 2026, a 24 per cent increase on the 651 recorded in the same period of 2025, according to new Surfshark research.

The research revealed that social media is the main entry point. It stressed that the rate of 24 per cent increase means 2026 will surpass last year’s record of 970 incidents, with reported losses already at $972 million for the year to date.

Every quarter of 2026 so far has exceeded its 2025 equivalent: incidents rose 47 per cent in the first quarter, 23 per cent in the second, and three per cent in the third. Across the most recent 12-month period (2025 Q4 through 2026 Q3), losses reached $2.24 billion, 55 per cent higher than the $1.44 billion recorded across the previous four quarters.

The 2026 figures sit on top of a steep multi-year climb. Surfshark identified 2,430 deepfake incidents in total between January 2020 and September 2026, with nearly 90 per cent of them occurring from 2024 onwards. Cumulative fraud losses across the full period total $3.91 billion, of which 98 per cent occurred from 2024 onwards, when popular generative AI tools gained popularity.

Chief Security Officer at Surfshark, Tomas Stamulis, said: “Detection tools often struggle to keep up with deepfake technology, so spotting a fake now takes more than a glance. Look closely at the details: unnatural movements, mismatched colours or lighting, distorted backgrounds, and lips that don’t quite match the audio can all be warning signs. It’s also worth noting how the content reached you, as deepfakes are often spread by bot accounts.”

Stamulis added that context matters as much as detail: “As these flaws become harder to see, be cautious with any message that creates urgency, asks for money, or comes from someone contacting you through unusual channels, as these are common signs of deepfake financial fraud. Seeing or hearing someone is no longer enough to know it’s really them. So when in doubt, pause and verify through a channel you trust.”

Since 2020, fraud-related deepfakes have accounted for 768 of the 2,430 incidents. Investment scams, in which criminals use deepfakes of celebrities and public figures to promote fraudulent schemes, rank first in both volume and damage: $1.75 billion in losses across 254 incidents. It disclosed that finance and banking fraud ranked second in losses at $1.14 billion across 103 incidents.

Corporate fraud, where scammers impersonate CEOs, employees, or business partners, follows at $545 million across 56 incidents, then product promotion scams at $277 million across 140 incidents, and romance scams at $179 million across 30 incidents.

Social media was the primary first-contact channel in 57 per cent of fraud cases (438 of 768) and $2.16 billion in losses. Websites had 65 incidents and $765 million in losses. Phone calls using AI-cloned audio ranked second by volume, with 93 incidents, but fifth by losses, at $181 million. Video calls, where scammers deploy real-time deepfakes in live meetings, made up just 25 incidents yet caused $363 million.

It added that authentication and biometric bypass accounted for 25 incidents and $276 million, and messaging apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp accounted for 46 incidents and $84 million.

Facebook was mentioned most often at 42 per cent, followed by Instagram at 25 per cent, X and YouTube at 13 per cent each, and TikTok at 12 per cent. Loss data is more concentrated: of the $846 million attributable to a named platform, Facebook accounted for $679 million (80 per cent) and Instagram for $164 million (19 per cent), with all other platforms combined totalling $2.2 million.

In this decade, the U.S. led with 787, more than three times India’s 246, followed by the United Kingdom (141), China (111), Brazil (79), South Korea (76), Taiwan (62), and Australia (62).

Financial losses rank differently. The U.S. recorded the highest national total at $705 million, followed by Indonesia ($615 million) and Malaysia ($513 million), then the United Kingdom ($177 million), Italy ($148 million), and Canada ($141 million).