AI, Deepfakes, & Digital Assets: Fighting Fraud in an Era of Emerging Technologies

We’re experiencing an era of rapid technological adoption that is reshaping day-to-day business operations and how we transact with each other. With innovation comes opportunity and risk for financial reporting professionals, especially as it relates to anti-fraud efforts.

Emerging technologies including generative AI (genAI) and digital assets are shaping the financial reporting fraud landscape. GenAI is being used to streamline financial reporting as well as external audit processes by handling routine tasks and allowing humans to focus on more complex evaluations. Despite the benefits associated with genAI, bad actors are also using

It is important to stay vigilant to identify and fight fraud as technology evolves. As a member of the Anti-Fraud Collaboration (AFC), the CAQ is at the forefront of examining how technology may give rise to new fraud risks and how it can help strengthen anti-fraud efforts and financial reporting integrity. The AFC’s Fraud and Emerging Tech series is designed to help all members of the financial reporting ecosystem stay ahead and learn how to respond to emerging risks.

Keep reading to learn how technology is impacting the fraud risk landscape and how stakeholders across the financial reporting ecosystem can respond.

GenAI: Technology That Cuts Both Ways

Audit firms and public companies have invested billions to integrate genAI into their workflows in recent years. One area where organizations are embedding genAI is into fraud prevention and detection programs.

GenAI is strengthening organizations’ fraud mitigation efforts in several ways, including augmenting fraud risk assessment to help identify potential fraud scenarios and areas of heightened risk, detecting potentially anomalous transactions within large datasets, and freeing employees for work that requires human judgment and oversight.

However, at the same time, genAI also introduces new fraud risks for organizations to be aware of. Fraudsters are using this technology to:

• Create deepfake text, image, audio and video;
• Falsify documents and accounting records; and
• Carry out scams at a scale and speed that wasn’t previously achievable.

Deepfakes are a growing financial and reputational risk for organizations that can directly threaten business operations. According to a 2025 Gartner

The AFC’s newest resource explores deepfakes in more detail, including potential fraud risks arising from them, and provides insights on how the financial reporting ecosystem can play a role in preventing deepfake-related fraud.

Digital Assets: A Regulatory Priority in 2026

Digital assets, including crypto assets and stablecoins, are of growing interest to public companies. Regulatory agencies and Congress are prioritizing providing regulatory clarity in this space for market participants. Congress recently passed the

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also focused on providing clarity on the application of securities law to specific types of digital asset transactions. Recently, the SEC published an interpretation of how federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets. This regulatory clarity is a positive development in the digital asset ecosystem, but it continues to be important for stakeholders in the financial reporting ecosystem to stay vigilant and adaptable as the ecosystem evolves.

High profile fraud cases in the digital asset ecosystem illustrate what can happen when there’s a lack of strong internal controls related to digital asset activities and emphasize the need for members of the financial reporting ecosystem to evaluate new fraud risks that may emerge as a result of engaging with digital assets. Digital asset-related fraud risks include:

• Hacks and scams targeting blockchain vulnerabilities;
• Asset misappropriation if an organization has weak security and custody controls; and
• Improper use by third-party custodians when there are weak controls.

The AFC’s digital assets resource provides examples to strengthen controls against these risks, specifically controls related to the appropriate safeguarding of digital assets.

GenAI, deepfakes, and digital assets are not separate phenomena – they are part of a broader trend of how innovative technologies are changing our capital markets. Maintaining a focus on the impact of technology on businesses is a key part of what it means to conduct rigorous anti-fraud efforts that protect investors and maintain financial reporting quality.

To learn more, I encourage you to explore the AFC’s emerging technology series and subscribe to the AFC’s newsletter for the latest anti-fraud resources and insights.