Data & Research February 18, 2025

Generative AI, Email Scams Lead Cyber Fraud in 2024

One of the biggest challenges executives cite in fraud prevention is that employees don’t always follow fraud prevention policies, according to research from Trustpair.

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Cybersecurity is one of the most concerning business risks for 2025, as 90% of companies noted they were targeted by cyber-fraud in the past year, up from 79% of companies in 2023, according to a survey released by Trustpair SAS.

Cyber-fraud (which includes activity such as hacking, deepfakes, voice cloning and highly sophisticated phishing schemes) rose by 14% year over year, according to data released by Trustpair, a France-based fraud protection platform for companies.

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The survey of 200 senior finance, treasury and accounts payable executives found that most executives report confidence in their (90%) and their team’s (89%) ability to spot a deepfake, business email compromise scam or other advanced cyber-fraud attack. Only 6% claim they cannot keep up with the growing sophistication of fraud attacks.

Almost half (43%) of companies have invested in fraud awareness training over the past 12 months, but survey respondents acknowledged the potential for human error in spite of this, saying one of their biggest challenges in fraud prevention is that employees do not always follow fraud prevention policies (39%).

The rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence will only lead to more fraud, Trustpair noted, specifying that in 2024, the use of generative AI tactics such as deepfakes and deep audio increased by 118%. Email scams are now the top approach (63%) fraudsters are using against organizations, up 103% year over year. This is a considerable shift from 2023, when text messages were the most commonly used approach.

Vendor fraud is also growing: 69% of companies reported they were targeted by this type of fraud in 2024. Vendor fraud and wire transfer fraud (63%) are the top two fraud types by which companies were targeted—and the two types of fraud with which companies say they are least prepared to deal.

“Our research shows that cyber fraud is an inescapable reality,” said Baptiste Collot, co-founder and CEO of Trustpair, in a release about the survey. “While many executives express confidence in their organizations’ ability to identify sophisticated fraudsters, nearly the same percentage said their organizations experienced successful attacks, indicating the confidence is misplaced.”

Data & Research February 18, 2025

DC Retirement Plan Balances and Contributions Rising, Fidelity Reports

More than two-thirds (69%) of employees and 67% of employers endorse retirement plans as a ‘must-have’ employer benefit, according to Fidelity Investments’ 2025 workplace outlook report.

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Retirement account balances have reached all-time highs, Fidelity Investments reported, with an average of $132,300 in 401(k)s and $119,300 in 403(b)s in the latter half of 2024. The company also noted that average overall contribution rates are increasing, nearing Fidelity’s guideline of saving 15% per year for retirement (including both employer and employee contributions).

Additionally, workers increasingly value the options; more than two-thirds (69%) of employees and 67% of employers endorse retirement plans as a must-have employer benefit, according to Fidelity’s 2025 workplace outlook report.

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In 401(k) plans, the Fidelity data highlighted that employers are adding 4.7% of pay to the plan, with employee deferrals of 9.4%, combining for a total average contribution of 14.1%. In 403(b) plans, Fidelity reported that employers are averaging a 3.3% contribution, with employee contributions of 8.5%, totaling an average of 11.8%.

However, behind the overall averages are some significant differences by industry. The industry with the highest total combined savings rate of 19.4% was pharmaceuticals, while the industry with the lowest combined rate was retail trade, at 10.3%.

Employer Contribution and Match Designs

According to data from the third quarter of 2024, Fidelity found that the most common 401(k) match formula is a safe harbor design—a 100% match on the first 3% and a 50% match on the next 2% of pay. The second most common match formula was a 100% match on the employee’s first 4%.

For 403(b) plans, the most common match formulas were 100% on the employee’s first 6%, followed by 100% on the employee’s first 5%.

Many participants are not receiving the full employer contribution. According to the report, 51% of Black employees, 45% of Latino employees and 43% of multiracial employees are not getting the full retirement match from their employers. These employees exhibited the highest likelihood of remaining at a plan’s default deferral rate for extended periods, Fidelity found, as this may be viewed as their employer’s “suggested” savings amount.

Kirsten Hunter Peterson, vice president of thought leadership at Fidelity, says a way for employers to address this issue would be to automatically enroll participants at the full match rate.

“For example, if an employer’s plan offers a 6% match, they should consider auto-enrolling participants at 6% to start,” Peterson says. “Instead, what often happens is that participants are auto-enrolled at, say, 3% or 4%, even if their match is higher, and participants don’t proactively go in and increase that deferral on their own or enroll in an automatic increase program. … They’re effectively leaving money on the table.”

Peterson says if employers were to set the automatic deferral rate to the level at which participants would earn the full plan match, it would enable more than eight out of every 10 Black and Latino employees to earn the full match.

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