First-party fraud is reshaping the risk landscape, as legitimate customers increasingly abuse account, free-trial and refund policies. Any business offering something of value can be targeted, but AI companies are particularly exposed because they rely on free trials to acquire customers and run on expensive compute. Drawing on hundreds of millions of transactions, this analysis examines how these patterns are evolving.

• 62% of businesses report more disputes from first-party fraud over the past year
• $35 cost to businesses for every $100 in dispute
• 7.4% of sign-ups at AI companies linked to suspected multi-account abuse
• 6.2x more abusive free trials detected between November 2025 and February 2026