Extra Credit Podcast 41: The New Face of Fraud: AI, Credit Washing and the Growing Risk to Lenders

Summary

Fraud is evolving faster than ever. In this episode, TransUnion® experts Adam Russell and Justin Murry explore how AI-powered scams, synthetic identities, account takeover and credit washing are creating new risks for lenders and reshaping fraud management strategies.

Synopsis

How AI, credit washing and synthetic identities are changing the fraud landscape for lenders

Lenders face mounting fraud risks as increasingly sophisticated scams, synthetic identities, account takeover attacks and emerging forms of credit abuse continue to evolve. In this episode of Extra Credit, TransUnion’s Adam Russell and Justin Murry join Craig and Josh to discuss how fraudsters are using technology, consumer data and AI to operate at greater scale and speed than ever before.

The conversation explores several of the most significant fraud trends affecting lenders today, including synthetic identity fraud, credit washing and AI-enabled scams. The  guests examine why these threats are becoming harder to detect, the risks they can conceal within lending portfolios and why fraud now demands attention well beyond the fraud department.

Adam and Justin also share practical steps lenders can take to strengthen their fraud strategies — from benchmarking and implementing layered defenses to cross-industry collaboration. Looking ahead, they consider how AI will continue transforming both attack methods and prevention capabilities, making innovation and adaptability critical to staying ahead of what comes next.