During Money Motion 2025, a panel titled “Identity Theft in the AI Era: The New Rules of the Game” brought together industry experts to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping digital identity and cybersecurity in the financial sector. As threats become more sophisticated, FinTech companies, banks, and regulators face mounting pressure to adapt their defenses and rebuild user trust.
As AI becomes more advanced, it’s also being used by cybercriminals to exploit vulnerabilities in digital identity systems. One major concern is deepfake technology, which uses AI to generate hyper-realistic audio, video, or images of a person, potentially enabling fraudsters to impersonate individuals in convincing ways. This raises the stakes for industries like FinTech, where verifying identity is central to secure transactions.
Another growing threat is behavioral fraud, where attackers mimic a user’s typical behavior patterns—such as login times, device types, or transaction styles—to bypass traditional security systems. These methods can sometimes fool even sophisticated AI-driven fraud detection tools.
At the same time, multi-factor authentication (MFA), once seen as a gold standard for protecting user accounts, is now being tested by attackers who can intercept one-time codes or trick users into revealing additional login information.
Experts such as Thekla Paschali, CTO at payabl, and Neven Zitek, cyber security business Solutions Director at Span, addressed the vulnerabilities of today’s identity systems and how innovation, particularly around authentication and behavior monitoring, can help protect users in an ever evolving threat landscape.
Identity is the new currency in a cashless world
Paschali warned that in today’s increasingly cashless society, our ability to prove our identity is directly tied to our capacity to engage in financial transactions.
“Even if we lose the era, even if we lose identity or can’t make transactions, you cannot choose your existence,” she said, highlighting that in this digital economy, identity isn’t just data, but rather an agency.
She argued that AI-driven fraud, such as deepfakes and synthetic identity theft, is eroding the core trust between financial institutions and their users. That trust, she stressed, must be rebuilt through coordinated action among banks, fintechs, governments, and regulators.
“Currently with AI, we have deepfake anxieties. Every day we hear more about AI tools used for fraud – using identities of somebody else,” she outlined.
Paschali emphasized that FinTechs cannot afford to wait for regulation to catch up. Instead, they must proactively implement behavioral monitoring, anomaly detection, and AI-driven safeguards that can identify when a user’s digital signature doesn’t match their usual pattern.
“Fraud doesn’t stop at borders. We can’t rely on passport checks anymore—we need systems that detect abnormal behavior in real-time,” she stated.
Are passwords becoming outdated?
On the topic of authentication, cybersecurity expert Neven Zitek took aim at the cornerstone of digital access: the password. “Passwords are the highway to your identity. And the truth is that they’re outdated.”
Zitek explained that multi-factor authentication (MFA), long seen as a robust defense, is now being tested by emerging threats. While MFA traditionally relies on the security triad, something you know, something you have, something you are, he believes the future lies in evolving this model to be truly multi-layered.
“In the future, we need to remove passwords entirely from daily use. Biometric data such as facial recognition and fingerprints will be key. But they can’t be the only layer.” he points out.
In turn, Zitek envisions a dynamic form of MFA that includes continuous identity checks based on user behavior, environment, and biometric cues. not just one-time logins.
“True security will mean verifying who you are not just once, but all the time – seamlessly, invisibly, and securely.”
