Trust Is Not What It Seems, and Fraudsters Are Counting on It
Dark Reading, Friday, October 23rd, 2026
Attackers now impersonate customers and brands, calling help desks for resets instead of using malware; experts explain how to close those doors.
Dark Reading draws on a TransUnion report finding most fraud now happens after a customer relationship is established, with account login making up 53% of suspected digital fraud in early 2026.
Synthetic identities, deepfakes and AI-personalized lures across email and Teams make impersonation easier, and AI brand impersonation has surged.
1Password's Dave Lewis calls help desk MFA-reset social engineering the most effective zero-day of 2026.
Recommendations include auditing every OAuth app, integration, guest account and API key in the CRM, revoking anything without an owner, scripted verification and callbacks for resets, dropping speed metrics for identity calls, and holding less customer data.