Deepfake incidents reached 809 in the first three quarters of 2026, a 24% increase on the 651 recorded in the same period of 2025, according to new Surfshark research. At that pace, 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% in the first quarter, 23% in the second, and 3% in the third. Across the most recent 12-month period (2025 Q4 through 2026 Q3), losses reached $2.24 billion, 55% higher than the $1.44 billion recorded across the previous four quarters.
The 2026 figures sit atop a steep multi-year climb. Surfshark identified 2,430 deepfake incidents in total between January 2020 and September 2026, with nearly 90% of them occurring from 2024 onwards. Cumulative fraud losses across the full period total $3.91 billion, of which 98% occurred from 2024 onwards, when popular generative AI tools gained popularity.
More info here: Deepfake fraud statistics: $3.91B lost since 2020
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Deepfake fraud has cost almost $4 billion worldwide since 2020
Deepfake incidents reached 809 in the first three quarters of 2026, a 24% increase on the 651 recorded in the same period of 2025, according to new Surfshark research. At that pace, 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% in the first quarter, 23% in the second, and 3% in the third. Across the most recent 12-month period (2025 Q4 through 2026 Q3), losses reached $2.24 billion, 55% higher than the $1.44 billion recorded across the previous four quarters.
The 2026 figures sit atop a steep multi-year climb. Surfshark identified 2,430 deepfake incidents in total between January 2020 and September 2026, with nearly 90% of them occurring from 2024 onwards. Cumulative fraud losses across the full period total $3.91 billion, of which 98% occurred from 2024 onwards, when popular generative AI tools gained popularity.
More info here: Deepfake fraud statistics: $3.91B lost since 2020
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This entry was posted on November 10, 2026 at 8:08 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Surfshark. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.