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With the first quarter of 2025 underway, businesses should take time to review their insurance protection against the growing danger from AI-powered cyber “social engineering” attacks. These threats are so significant, especially in the financial services and legal industries, that a look back to 2024 news headlines should provide all the urgency needed to seek adequate legal, IT, and insurance guidance due to the increasing sophistication of cybercriminals in our interconnected digital world.

The Deloitte Center for Financial Services predicts that generative AI could enable fraud losses across the U.S. to reach $40 billion by 2027. In September 2024, the FBI reported over $17.5 billion in losses reported by U.S. financial recipient victims of business email compromise (BEC) schemes from June 2016 through December 2023.