Online Scams Surpass Phishing for the First Time, Akamai Report Finds

New research from Akamai's 2026 State of the Internet report, featuring Bolster AI threat intelligence, reveals how cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting brand trust for financial gain.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Online scams have surpassed traditional phishing in detected volume for the first time, according to new threat intelligence from Bolster AI featured in Akamai's 2026 State of the Internet: Fraud and Abuse Report. The findings signal a significant shift in cybercrime, as attackers increasingly exploit trusted brands and digital channels to commit financial fraud.

Bolster AI's research found that online scam detections approximately doubled from 3.2 million to 6.4 million during the reporting period, while the average phishing attack lifespan fell by more than 50%. Together, the findings highlight the growing scale, speed, and sophistication of digital deception.

"We're seeing a fundamental shift in how cybercriminals operate," said Rod Schultz, CEO of Bolster AI. "Credential theft remains a major threat, but attackers are increasingly exploiting the trust consumers place in legitimate brands to steal money directly. These campaigns span websites, social media, advertisements, and digital marketplaces, creating risks that extend well beyond an organization's traditional security perimeter."

A turning point in digital fraud

Drawing on threat intelligence collected between July 2025 and June 2026, Bolster AI's research featured in the report reveals three significant trends reshaping the threat landscape:

• Scams overtake phishing: Online scam detections surpassed traditional phishing for the first time in Q1 2026, reflecting a shift toward direct financial fraud, including counterfeit storefronts, investment scams, and payment fraud.
• Phishing attacks become shorter-lived: The average phishing attack lifespan declined from 48.3 days in Q4 2025 to just 22 days in Q2 2026, a reduction of more than 50%. Shorter attack lifespans leave security teams with less time to identify and disrupt malicious campaigns.
• Fraud campaigns span multiple digital channels: Attackers use AI-generated content, localized social engineering, and shared infrastructure to operate across websites, social media, advertisements, and other digital platforms. These tactics make it harder for security teams to identify and disrupt coordinated fraud operations.

Traditional phishing is not disappearing. Bolster AI's research also found that phishing detections grew 61% by Q2 2026, underscoring how cybercriminals are expanding their tactics rather than replacing existing ones.

Protecting brand trust beyond the enterprise perimeter

As attackers increasingly target the digital interactions between businesses and their customers, fraudulent advertisements, counterfeit websites, and impersonation campaigns can exploit legitimate brands without compromising their internal systems. The findings underscore the importance of connecting threats across digital channels and disrupting the infrastructure behind coordinated fraud campaigns, rather than responding to individual malicious websites in isolation.

Bolster AI's contribution draws on its AI-powered threat detection capabilities, which analyze millions of websites daily using models trained on more than 10 billion data points. The findings reinforce the need for greater visibility into threats beyond enterprise infrastructure and a more connected approach to detecting and disrupting digital fraud.

"The future of cybersecurity isn't just about protecting the systems a business owns. It's about protecting the trust a business has earned," added Schultz. "We're proud to contribute our research to Akamai's State of the Internet report and help advance the industry's understanding of how these threats are evolving."

Read the report

Akamai's 2026 State of the Internet: Fraud and Abuse Report is available at http://www.akamai.com/lp/state-of-the-internet/digital-fraud-abuse-report-2026 

Join Akamai and Bolster AI for a discussion of the findings. Register at https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/20066/678473 

About Bolster AI

Bolster AI delivers AI-powered brand and threat protection, helping organizations detect, investigate, and disrupt phishing, brand impersonation, and digital fraud. Its platform provides visibility across domains, websites, social media, paid advertisements, online marketplaces, and mobile applications, enabling security teams to identify and respond to threats targeting their brands and customers.

For more information, visit https://bolster.ai.

SOURCE Bolster AI