Suspected Digital Fraud in Rwanda Falls Below Global Rate in 2025 as Consumers Report Money Mule Scams Cause Most Losses

• Among Rwandans who reported losing money to digital fraud in the past year, nearly three in ten (29%) said it was to money mule scams
• The highest rate of suspected digital fraud in the consumer lifecycle in Rwanda occurred at account creation in 2025
• Among sectors analysed, attempted transactions from Rwanda in retail were the most at risk of suspected digital fraud last year

TransUnion research found that 1.6% of transaction attempts^[1] involving consumers in Rwanda in 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, down from 2.7% the previous year and well below the global average of 3.8%. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud from Rwanda and globally, fraudsters continue to adapt, turning to high-trust, scam-based tactics that can bypass traditional safeguards.

While overall suspected digital fraud rates remain comparatively low, the consumer impact remains meaningful. Among Rwandan consumers surveyed^[2] by TransUnion who reported losing money to digital fraud in the past year (defined in the survey as email, online, phone call and text message scams), the median reported loss was RWF 869,249. This is lower than the figures reported in Kenya and South Africa among the countries studied.

These are among the findings in the TransUnion H1 2026 Update: Top Fraud Trends report, which blends insights from a TransUnion consumer survey and its global intelligence network to track how fraud patterns are shifting across markets and digital channels.

“Despite recording lower digital fraud rates than global and regional averages, Rwanda is experiencing a structural change in fraud risk,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “Criminals are moving upstream, targeting identity and trust at the point of access rather than transactions, and exploiting early moments where verification is still forming.”

Within this context, Rwanda’s investment in Digital Public Infrastructure under Vision 2050 is anchored by the National Identification Agency’s (NIDA) implementation of a new digital identification number. This initiative is expected to strengthen eKYC, support digital service delivery and improve trusted onboarding across the economy.

Money Mule Scams Lead Consumer-Reported Fraud Losses in Rwanda

Rwandan consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel attacks like those seen in mature digital economies, with fraud moving deeper into everyday digital interactions.

Amongst Rwandans who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, nearly three in ten (29%) said money mule scams were responsible.

“Money mules often are the bridge between consumer fraud and broader financial crime,” said Reddy. “Many are unknowingly recruited through social engineering, enabling criminals to move stolen funds while avoiding detection. As these activities scale, isolated scams evolve into wider systemic risks, underscoring that fraud in Rwanda is no longer just a consumer issue.”

Chart 1: Most Prominent Cause of Consumer-Reported Fraud Loss in Rwanda – 2025

Source: TransUnion consumer survey

Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Rwanda

Even when overall suspected fraud rates appear lower than 2024, risk can remain elevated at specific points in the digital consumer lifecycle, particularly where criminals attempt to create or manipulate identities. In 2025, Rwanda recorded its highest suspected digital fraud rate in the consumer lifecycle at account creation (7.7%), followed by account login (1.6%) and during financial transactions (0.5%).

“The report highlights a critical shift: the highest fraud risk in Rwanda now occurs before the first transaction,” said Reddy. “Rather than attacking systems directly, fraudsters increasingly impersonate legitimate users, blending into digital ecosystems designed for speed, inclusion and convenience. Once a compromised identity is onboarded, downstream fraud becomes significantly more complex and costly to prevent. This reflects a broader global pattern where fraud is no longer forceful, it is subtle, adaptive and difficult to see.”

Rwandans Prioritise Increased Safety Over Frictionless Experiences if Protected from Fraud

Findings from the TransUnion survey also show that the top features Rwandan consumers value when choosing whom to transact with online are an easy payment process (73% rated this as very important), confidence that their personal data is secure (70%), and ease of filling out forms and applications (64%).

“Consumers are willing to accept friction when it clearly enhances protection,” Reddy said. “Security in Rwanda is evolving beyond compliance and emerging as a key driver of brand trust and differentiation.”

Retail Transactions Show the Highest Suspected Digital Fraud Risk Among Sectors Analysed

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry. For transactions involving Rwandan consumers, retail recorded the highest suspected digital fraud rate in 2025, at 7.1%.

As more services converge around mobile identity, real‑time connectivity and platform‑based interactions, fraud increasingly appears wherever users are active. As digital commerce grows, fraud is increasingly concentrated in environments where new trust relationships form quickly, including online marketplaces.

“This concentration of risk underscores the importance of stronger identity assurance across digital marketplaces,” Reddy said. “Protecting consumers also support legitimate merchants and help grow confidence in ecommerce platform safety.”

Chart 2: Top Three Sectors Experiencing Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts from Rwanda

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

As fraud tactics evolve, consumers can help reduce risk by safeguarding personal information, being cautious with unsolicited calls and messages and regularly reviewing their credit information for suspicious activity.

Rwanda benefits from a robust regulatory and cybercrime framework, which has helped keep fraud rates comparatively low even as attack intensity increases. Importantly, declining fraud rates do not indicate a diminishing threat. Instead, they reflect better detection, improving controls and shifting criminal tactics.

“Fraud is becoming more automated, more targeted and more psychologically manipulative, a trend accelerated by advances in artificial intelligence and digital scale. This evolution requires continuous fraud detection adaptation rather than static controls,” Reddy said.

“The central challenge ahead is no longer simply preventing fraud but preserving trust in the digital economy. Trust determines whether consumers continue to transact digitally, businesses can grow and convert customers, and confidence in Rwanda’s digital future is sustained. Fraud will always exist online, but trust doesn’t have to suffer. Rwanda’s next stage of digital growth depends on security and convenience online moving forward together,” she concluded.

TransUnion’s insights are based on a global survey of 12,730 consumers in 18 countries and regions, conducted between Nov. 20–Dec. 9, 2025, alongside intelligence from its suite of TransUnion fraud prevention solutions. To learn more about how TransUnion fraud prevention solutions can help businesses avoid fraud and prevent fraud losses, click here.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Rwanda, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^[1] Suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion clients determined met one of the following conditions: 1) denial in real time due to fraudulent indicators, 2) denial in real time for corporate policy violations, 3) fraudulent upon client investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon client investigation. The country and regional analyses examined transactions in which the consumer or suspected fraudster was located in a select country or region when conducting a transaction. Global statistics represent every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.

^[2] TransUnion surveyed 308 consumers in Rwanda from Nov. 24 to Dec. 9, 2025.