Digital Fraud in Panama Reaches New Heights

Digital fraud will continue to evolve at the pace of technology; the coming years will be marked by more autonomous, scalable, and harder-to-detect attacks. In parallel, data from Experian shows that nearly 60% of companies globally increased their losses due to fraud between 2024 and 2025, a clear sign of how the sophistication of digital crime is pressuring the most advanced markets and anticipating the risks other countries will face, including Panama. These fake platforms reappear quickly even after being taken down, fueling credential theft, identity impersonation, and digital fraud. “These trends show us that digital fraud has ceased to be an abstract risk to become an everyday reality,” the report states. To this is added the fact that the Information Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT Panama) reported 1,312 cybersecurity incidents in 2024, where digital fraud accounted for 22% of the cases, consolidating it as one of the most recurrent modalities. The Experian study identifies five trends that are redefining digital fraud and the misuse of personal information: Cloning of websites and credential theft. The cloning of legitimate commercial, entity, and digital service pages remains one of the most effective forms of fraud. Fraud between automated systems. The interaction between systems and artificial intelligence agents operating without direct human supervision is opening new spaces for fraud. Emotional bots and large-scale scams. AI-powered bots are already capable of holding credible conversations, generating trust, and emotionally manipulating people. Statistics from the Public Ministry reveal that in the last year, 5,056 complaints for scams and frauds were registered, a 10% increase compared to the previous year, which means that 14 people are victims of fraud in the country every day, explained Victor Nieto, head of management at Experian. “The difference now is not only in detecting fraud, but in identifying early signals before the damage occurs,” he reiterated. Anticipating, investing in analytical capabilities, and strengthening trust in digital environments will be key to sustaining the growth of the digital and financial ecosystem in the country. In this context, Experian presented its Future of Fraud Forecast 2026, an annual report that identifies the main fraud threats that will impact companies and consumers globally during the year. This increases the pressure on companies, which today must demonstrate that they can protect information, anticipate risks, and respond quickly. Today, cybercriminals no longer rely on isolated deceptions or opportunistic attacks, but use advanced technologies to execute more autonomous, persistent, and complex schemes capable of scaling rapidly and going unnoticed. As more processes are automated, it becomes more complex to identify responsibilities, intentions, and risks, creating a new scenario of vulnerability for organizations. This threat is no longer exceptional and is beginning to directly impact users and companies in Panama. Cybercrimes have been growing exponentially in Panama and the world due to technological advances. The report warns that scammers are using technology to their advantage, leveraging artificial intelligence, automation, and digital interconnection to launch attacks that are increasingly difficult to detect and contain. These devices can be exploited to collect data, monitor activities, or facilitate unauthorized access. Deepfakes and identity impersonation. The use of artificial intelligence to generate hyper-realistic audio, images, and videos allows scammers to impersonate real people, bypass verification controls, and access sensitive systems. Smart devices as new attack points. The expansion of smart homes and connected environments, such as voice assistants, cameras, smart locks, and other devices, expands the attack surface.