The Latin American Fintech industry is at a turning point: while digital platforms facilitate access to financial services, they also become privileged objectives for new forms of fraud increasingly sophisticated. The most recent data of Biocatch They reveal the magnitude of the challenge: in the first half of 2024, fraud cases increased by 32% compared to the same period of 2023. Malware grew 113% and 79% of all frauds originated from mobile channels. 30% specifically came from mobile browsers, a rare particularity compared to other regions such as Asia, Europe or North America.
This trend remained during the second semester of 2024, with an increase of 17% compared to the same period of the previous year. And in the first four months of 2025, there is already 7% more cases than in the first half of 2024.
Also, according to him Kaspersky threat panoramascams through false messages increased by 140% in Latin America last year.
The Fintech fraud panorama in Latin America is not uniform. Each country presents specific patterns that reflect both its cultural peculiarities and the weaknesses of its digital ecosystems.
In Argentina, by case, guided scams predominate where attackers induce users to share sensitive data through social engineering, in addition to the extensive use of informal market databases to validate stolen or invented documents.
Uruguay, meanwhile, presents a different scenario, marked by a strong increase in mobile malware and phishing. Colombia, meanwhile, is characterized by pyramidal or Ponzi schemes that take advantage of regulatory gaps in the Fintech sector. Mexico shows perhaps the most complex panorama, with coordinated activity of fraud in Ring, where organized networks open multiple lines of credit simultaneously, in addition to an increase in sophisticated attacks that include the use of Deepfakes.
The evolution of the attack: from the simple to the coordinated. “The biggest challenge is to maintain the balance between offering an agile and friendly experience for users, while increasingly sophisticated attacks are prevented”, He explains Santiago PeraltaCto de Alprestamoa marketplace of financial products born in Argentina eight years ago that operates in six countries in the region.
Experts agree that the nature of attacks has been significantly evolving. “It is surprising that, after a six -time growth in the Phishing activity in 2023, criminals have yet managed to maintain an exponential increase in 2024. Unfortunately, we cannot say that scam Kaspersky for Latin America, in a published report at the end of last year. Online, Peralta adds: “In addition to the increase in automated attacks and more sophisticated identity impersonation, we observe growth in guided fraud attempts, where attackers directly point to our clients.”
This evolution presents a particular challenge for regional Fintech: “When operating in multiple countries in Latin America, we face very different and changing fraud patterns. Adapting to that without friction the experience is a complex task that requires flexible infrastructure and intelligent prevention systems.”
Technology as a shield: The response of the sector
Given this climbing, the Fintech developed multilayer defense strategies that combine prevention, detection and response. The most successful cases implement what experts call “defense in multiple layers, which combines technological tools, active validations, intelligent monitoring and criminal coordination.”
The techniques include from the automated traffic block to digital fingerprinting and dynamic validations. “If we detect suspicious behaviors, such as the same phone or device registering multiple DNIS, we activate an invisible blocking flow that does not expose the cause to the attacker but avoid showing offers or continuing the journey,” says Peralta.
The challenge is not better. Alprestamo reports having identified and blocked More than 400,000 attempts for undue use in recent months, where multiple combinations of DNIS were tested reusing contact data.
However, artificial intelligence emerges as the most promising tool to face the growing sophistication of fraud. “We are exploring the potential of AI as a strategic tool to climb our operation, improve decisions and anticipate risks,” explains Peralta.
Current developments are concentrated in predictive models for decision making: “We are developing and evaluating models that allow us to anticipate user behavior, identify real credit intentions and optimize processes such as scoring, validation or commercial monitoring.”
For the near future, experts identify areas with great potential: Customer Service automation with intelligent assistants adapted to the user profile, automatic documentation review for frictionless onboarding, generative models for financial simulations and dynamic management of the adjusted risk in real time with continuous learning.
Infrastructure as a competitive advantage. Success in the fight against fraud also depends on the underlying technological infrastructure, such as Cloud platforms that allow to climb operations to various countries without compromising security.
“We chose AWS because it offers us a solid, scalable and safe base to operate in several countries without having to reinvent the wheel every time,” Peralta explains about the choice of infrastructure. “Its presence in the region, compliance, managed services and cost flexibility allow us to grow with control.”
This strategy allows what experts call “real elasticity”: “We can climb environments in minutes if demand grows, launch products in new countries without complications and maintain controlled costs.”
However, technology alone is not enough. Successful Fintech implement protocols that go beyond digital prevention. “In cases of documented fraud, we coordinate with the Prosecutor’s Office of Cybercrime and our lawyers to criminally denounce, including forensic evidence”Peralta points out.
An emerging trend in the sector is the construction of its own infrastructure for critical processes. “We are building our own infrastructure, from validations to email mass marketing, so as not to depend on third parties in Core processes. That allows us to better control experience, costs and security,” adds the CTO.
The challenge for the next few years will be to maintain the balance between financial inclusion and security. This implies migrating to more decoupled architectures, with a focus on performance, decisions Data-Driven and mobile experience, while the safety and infrastructure bases are consolidated.
The fight against Fintech fraud in Latin America as soon as it begins. While the attackers sophisticate their methods, the industry responds with technological innovation, regional coordination and an increasingly profound understanding that security is not a cost, but the basis on which digital confidence is constructed that expands access to financial services in the region.
by ma
