Australia’s financial crime watchdog, AUSTRAC, has warned that artificial intelligence is rapidly increasing the scale and sophistication of scams, money laundering, and other financial crimes. In updated national risk assessments released this week, the agency said criminals are increasingly using AI tools to fabricate identities, forge documents, automate laundering operations, and disguise the proceeds of scams more effectively than before. Officials described AI as a major “accelerant” for criminal activity because it allows fraud networks to operate faster and at much larger scale.
According to AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas, technologies that once required manual criminal operations are now being automated with AI. Authorities warned that organized crime groups are using generative AI to create convincing fake documents, deepfake content, and highly realistic scam campaigns targeting individuals and businesses. Australia’s open financial system and strong international trade links also make the country more exposed to cross-border financial crime tied to nations such as Iran and North Korea.
The warning comes amid a broader surge in AI-powered scams across Australia. Earlier this year, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed that nearly 12,000 scam and phishing websites were shut down in 2025 alone, many of them using AI-generated content to appear legitimate. Regulators say AI now enables scammers to generate fake investment platforms, clone voices, create realistic phishing emails, and automate fraud campaigns at unprecedented speed. Experts described the cybercrime environment as becoming more industrialized and harder for ordinary users to detect.
Australian authorities are responding by expanding anti-money laundering regulations and increasing cooperation between regulators, banks, and cybersecurity agencies. Starting in July, additional industries including real estate agencies, precious metal dealers, and trust service providers will fall under stricter anti-money laundering rules because they are considered vulnerable to exploitation by criminal networks. The broader concern among regulators is that AI is transforming financial crime into a highly scalable and increasingly automated global threat, forcing governments and institutions to modernize defenses much faster than before.
