Fraud has always been part of the financial landscape. But in the past two years, something has shifted. Fraudsters aren’t just adapting, they’re accelerating. AI has handed them the tools to deceive at scale.
Today, it’s easier than ever for bad actors to generate fake pay stubs, fake bank statements, forged employment letters, and fabricated asset invoices with tools that closely mimic authentic financial documents. These aren’t crude Photoshop jobs, they’re nearly undetectable at first glance.
And they’re showing up in our industry.
At Prime Capital, we’ve recently seen all of these. We were even tagged in a fraud last month that, once reported to the vendor’s bank and our industry network, quickly revealed a multimillion-dollar fraud ring including fake customers, fake assets, and fake vendors.
The damage to the industry in just two months has been staggering.
But here’s the good news: we uncovered it. And we did so not because of complex tech or outsourced forensics, but because someone on our team asked a simple question that didn’t make sense in context. That pause, that question, was the moment the deal unravelled.
That still works. And despite the sophistication of today’s fraud, our most powerful defence remains human.
What Fraudsters Are Searching For
Inscribe recently published a revealing report titled “What Are Fraudsters Searching For?” The article analyzed SEO search data and uncovered trends in how fraud is evolving. Their findings are eye-opening.
Fraudsters are using search terms like:
- fake pay stub generator
- editable W-2 template
- how to fake a bank statement
- fake employment verification letter
They’re not just creating fake documents. They’re doing it with the help of consumer-style AI tools, openly accessible and frighteningly effective. This isn’t happening in some dark web forum, it’s happening on Google.
What We’ve Learned — and What You Should Know
We’ve identified five key takeaways from Inscribe’s research that align with what we’re seeing in the field:
- AI tools are highly advanced and easy to access. Fraudsters have a technological edge that is growing rapidly.
- They use time and pressure to their advantage. When friendly sources urge us to “speed things up,” our natural skepticism is often bypassed. That’s where errors happen.
- Skipping process invites risk. Systems and checkpoints exist to detect inconsistencies. Ignoring them opens the door to loss.
- “Too good to be true” still means what it always has. Gut instinct is often a red flag worth slowing down for.
- Cross-referencing is more important than ever. Verifying documents now requires deeper, more time-consuming steps. It’s costly, but necessary. Even with all this, the best defense is still knowing the client well.
Process is Protection
Here’s what we’ve seen time and again. A deal might look clean on the surface. The paperwork might be perfect. The story might check out.
But someone on our team asks a simple question.
And that question exposes something that doesn’t make sense.
That’s not luck. That’s a team trained to think critically, speak up, and respect the process, even when urgency creeps in.
We’ve uncovered fraud at every stage — application, pre-funding, and post-funding. In each case, process worked. So did curiosity.
A Culture of Healthy Skepticism
We believe process is not a bottleneck. It’s a safeguard. We believe in asking simple, obvious, even uncomfortable questions. We believe in slowing down, especially when everything looks too perfect. And we believe that every deal is more than numbers. It’s about people, trust, and long-term impact.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re part of the Prime Capital team:
- Keep honouring the process.
- Speak up when something doesn’t feel right.
- Don’t rush because someone else is in a hurry.
- Ask questions, even if they seem obvious.
If you’re an industry peer, let’s talk. Fraud isn’t just our problem, it’s everyone’s. Sharing insights, tools, and practices helps the entire ecosystem get stronger.
The Bottom Line
AI has changed the game. But it hasn’t changed the rules. Fraudsters will continue to evolve, but so will we. At Prime Capital, we will always bet on people, on process, and on asking the right questions.
Because funding isn’t just about moving fast. It’s about moving right.
