TransUnion analysis found that 1.1% of transaction attempts^[1] involving consumers in Zambia in 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, well below the global average of 3.8%. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud, 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^[2]. Among Zambian consumers surveyed 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 ZMW 8,198. This is the lowest among the African 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.

“Zambia remains a lower‑to‑mid fraud risk market within Africa, reflecting growing but uneven digital adoption across banking, mobile payments, ecommerce and public services,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “However, Zambia is entering a phase where fraud risk begins to rise alongside financial inclusion, rather than remaining opportunistic or isolated.”

“Global trends show that fraud does not wait for full digital maturity,” she added. “It emerges early as trust in mobile and financial systems grows faster than identity, authentication and oversight controls. Zambia still has time, but the signals show that risk is building.”

Third-Party Seller Scams Emerge as the Top Driver of Consumer-Reported Fraud Losses in Zambia

Zambian consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel fraud with attacks moving deeper into everyday digital interactions.

Among Zambians who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, one third (33%) said third-party seller scams on legitimate ecommerce sites were responsible. This indicates that losses are not occurring in obviously unsafe environments, but within credible, familiar and trusted spaces.

“Even in a lower risk market like Zambia, fraudsters are prioritising mainstream platforms that appear familiar and legitimate,” Reddy said. “This mirrors global fraud patterns, even though absolute loss values remain lower.”

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

Source: TransUnion consumer survey

Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Zambia

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, Zambia recorded its highest suspected digital fraud rate across the consumer lifecycle at account creation (13.7%), the highest rate among the African countries studied, and well above the global average of 8.3%. This was followed by account login (0.7%) and during financial transactions (0.3%).

“Zambia’s fraud profile reflects an early stage of digital growth, where onboarding and identity creation are currently the most exposed points,” Reddy said. “Experience from other markets shows that failure to strengthen protection early on often sees rapid escalation of login-based fraud later. Strengthening identity verification and early-stage controls now can materially reduce downstream fraud risk later,” she added.

Zambians Accept Some Friction if They’re Protected from Fraud

Findings from the TransUnion survey also show that the top features Zambian consumers value when choosing whom to transact with online are confidence that their personal data is secure (95% rated this as very important), easy payment processes (89%), and ease of filling out forms and applications (82%).

“Consumers are clearly willing to accept friction when it is linked to protection,” Reddy said. “Security in Zambia is evolving beyond compliance and emerging as a key driver of trust and brand, not just compliance.”

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

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry. In Zambia, retail transactions recorded the highest suspected digital fraud rate in 2025 at 2.8%. As more services converge around mobile identity, real‑time connectivity and platform‑based interactions, fraud increasingly appears wherever users are most active and not only where money changes hands.

“Zambia has entered an advanced fraud phase where criminals exploit trust rather than technical weaknesses,” she added. “This reinforces the importance of protecting identity and access points early.”

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

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

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

Zambia benefits from active government and regulatory engagement in financial oversight, consumer protection and digital governance. Global experience shows that markets which align financial inclusion with early regulatory frameworks are better positioned to prevent fraud from scaling as adoption increases.

“Zambia is not facing a fraud crisis, but it is clearly a market in transition,” Reddy said. “Fraud risk is evolving alongside digital inclusion, formalisation and growing consumer trust. These patterns closely resemble the early stages observed in other markets that later experienced rapid fraud growth.

“For organisations and institutions operating in Zambia, there is a clear opportunity to act early,” she added. “Strengthening onboarding, mobile identity and cross‑channel protections in collaboration with regulators can support inclusive, trusted, and sustainable digital growth, while helping to maintain fraud prevention as Zambia’s digital ecosystem continues to mature.”

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 Zambia, 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, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 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 365 consumers in Zambia from Nov. 21 to Dec. 8, 2025. 

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. 

TransUnion research found that 1.2% of transaction attempts^[1] involving consumers in Namibia in 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, well below the global average of 3.8%. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud from Namibia 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 Namibian 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 NAD 7,726.

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.

“Global fraud trends show a clear pattern: as digital adoption accelerates, fraud evolves first through social engineering and trust exploitation before scaling into identity-driven account takeover and cross channel attacks,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “Namibia sits squarely at this early transition point. While it remains one of the lower-risk markets among the African countries analysed, global experience shows this stage is temporary.”

“In this context, the strategic advantage Namibia has is time,” she added. “The signals seen in global markets today provide a clear roadmap for how fraud is likely to evolve next.”

Third-Party Seller Scams Drive Consumer-Reported Fraud Losses in Namibia

Namibian consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel fraud, with attacks moving deeper into everyday digital interactions.

Among Namibians who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, more than one third (35%) said third-party seller scams on legitimate ecommerce sites were responsible for the loss. This indicates that losses are not occurring in obviously unsafe environments, but rather within credible, familiar and trusted digital spaces.

“Even in a lower-risk market like Namibia, fraudsters are prioritising mainstream platforms that consumers trust,” Reddy said. “This mirrors global fraud patterns, even if overall loss values remain lower.”

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

Source: TransUnion consumer survey

Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Namibia

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, the highest suspected digital fraud rate in Namibia in the consumer lifecycle occurred at account creation (2.8%), followed by account login (1.4%) and during financial transactions (0.2%).

“This profile aligns strongly with early-stage fraud markets globally,” Reddy said. “Markets that fail to strengthen fraud prevention at onboarding early tend to experience rapid escalation of login-based fraud later. Namibia therefore has a critical opportunity to reinforce identity verification and behavioural intelligence now, before fraud becomes systemic.”

Namibians Accept Some Friction if They’re Protected from Fraud

Findings from the TransUnion survey also show that the top features Namibian consumers value when choosing whom to transact with online are confidence that their personal data is secure (89% rated this as very important), easy payment processes (81%) and ease of login or authentication (76%).

“Consumers are willing to accept friction when it clearly enhances protection,” Reddy added. “Security in Namibia is increasingly becoming a driver of brand trust and differentiation, not just regulatory compliance.”

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

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry, reflecting local user behaviours and where criminals see opportunity. For attempted transactions involving consumers in Namibia, gaming (online sports betting, poker, etc.) transactions recorded the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2025, at 4.5%.

As more services converge around mobile identity, real‑time connectivity and platform‑based interactions, fraud increasingly appears wherever users are most active; not only where money changes hands.

“High-engagement platforms such as gaming often act as early testing grounds for new fraud tactics,” Reddy said. “In Namibia’s digital economy, fraud doesn’t stay in silos. It moves wherever trust and engagement already exist.”

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

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

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

Namibia’s fraud landscape today reflects an early stage, trust-based digital economy, consistent with what was seen in global markets before fraud risk scaled materially. While current fraud rates remain relatively low in Namibia, the underlying signals of trust-based scams, onboarding pressure and growing digital reliance closely mirror the precursors to higher fraud rates observed globally.

“Waiting for fraud to scale is the most expensive strategy,” Reddy said. “Organisations that invest early in strong identity assurance, right-sized onboarding friction and cross-channel protection will be best positioned to enable secure digital growth and avoid the fraud challenges seen globally.”

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 Namibia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, 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 Namibia from Nov. 23 to Dec. 8, 2025. 

TransUnion research found that 2.3% of transaction attempts^[1] involving consumers in Kenya in 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, slightly below the global average of 3.8% but the second highest among the African countries analysed after South Africa. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud from Kenya 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 Kenyan 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 KES 108,132. This is the highest among African countries assessed.

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.

“Kenya is emerging as one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital economies and global experience shows that the markets that scale fastest are also the first to encounter sophisticated, identity-driven fraud at scale,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “As mobile device usage, real-time payments and high frequency digital transactions continue to grow, fraudsters actively search for new opportunities.”

Third-Party Seller Scams Emerge as the Top Driver of Consumer-Reported Fraud Losses in Kenya

Kenyan consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel fraud, similar to patterns seen in mature digital economies, with fraud moving deeper into everyday digital interactions.

Among Kenyans who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, nearly four in ten (39%) said third-party seller scams on legitimate ecommerce sites were responsible for the loss. This indicates that losses are not occurring in obviously risky environments, but within credible, familiar and trusted platforms where fraudsters successfully embed themselves.

As noted above, Kenyan consumers reported the highest median digital fraud loss among the African countries analysed, indicating that fraud in the region is no longer marginal. Rather, it is material and increasingly widespread. Unlike fringe scam activity, losses are now often linked to everyday digital interactions, where speed, familiarity and routine reduce opportunities to pause or verify.

“Fraud tends to do the most damage in places where people already rely heavily on digital services, not just where those services are new,” Reddy said. “In Kenya, mitigating against fraud risks is now part of everyday digital activity.”

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

Source: TransUnion consumer survey

Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Kenya

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, the highest suspected digital fraud rate in the consumer lifecycle in Kenya occurred at account creation (4.5%), followed by account login (2.2%) and during financial transactions (0.9%).

“While onboarding controls remain important, fraud pressure in Kenya is increasingly visible at access points,” Reddy explained. “In mobile first markets, this shift happens faster and with greater financial impact. The next fraud battle won’t be fought at onboarding – it will be at re-entry.”

Kenyans Accept Some Friction If They’re Protected from Fraud

Findings from the TransUnion survey also show that Kenyan consumers ranked the most important features when choosing whom to transact with online as confidence that their personal data is secure (88% rated this as very important), an easy payment process (87%), and ease of login or authentication (79%).

“The fact that security is the top reported feature shows that consumers are willing to accept friction when completing digital transactions, provided it’s clearly linked to protection,” Reddy said. “As a result, security in Kenya is evolving beyond compliance and emerging as a key driver of brand trust and differentiation.”

Online Gaming-Related Transactions Show the Highest Suspected Digital Fraud Risk Among Sectors Analysed

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry, reflecting local user behaviours and where criminals see opportunity. For attempted transactions involving consumers in Kenya, online gaming-related transactions (online sports betting, poker, etc.) recorded the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2025, at 15.6%.

As more services converge around mobile identity, real‑time connectivity and platform‑based interactions, fraud increasingly appears wherever users are most active; not only where money changes hands.

“Online gaming platforms often act as early testing grounds for new fraud tactics,” said Reddy. “In Kenya’s connected digital economy, fraud doesn’t stay in silos. It moves wherever trust and engagement already exist.”

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts from Kenya, by Sector

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

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

For organisations, the data reinforces that fraud strategies must extend beyond compliance to actively protect trust across the entire consumer lifecycle-particularly at onboarding and account creation, where criminals attempt to exploit established relationships through scams and impersonation.

Kenya has transitioned from reactive fraud controls to proactive intervention, particularly across mobile money, digital identity and cybercrime. The policy direction is clear: trust, accountability and system-wide collaboration are emerging as foundational pillars of the country’s digital economy defence.

“Kenya offers a preview of what lies ahead for mobile-first economies globally,” Reddy concluded. “Protecting identity and trust is no longer optional as unmanaged fraud increasingly places digital success at risk.”

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 Kenya, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, 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 495 consumers in Kenya from Nov. 20 to Dec. 5, 2025. 

TransUnion’s research found that 0.9% of transaction attempts^[1] involving consumers in Botswana in 2025 were suspected to be digital fraud. This is below the global average of 3.8% and represents the lowest rate among the African countries analysed. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud from Botswana and globally, fraudsters continue to adapt by turning to high-trust, scam-based tactics that can bypass traditional safeguards.

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

“Botswana has not experienced widespread fraud, but the nature of fraud risk is beginning to shift,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “As digital services become more formal and widely trusted, fraudsters are increasingly targeting these environments. This is a natural stage of digital growth and highlights the need to strengthen protections as confidence in digital services expand.”

Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Botswana

Even when overall suspected fraud rates appear lower compared to 2024, risk can remain elevated at specific points in the digital consumer lifecycle, particularly where criminals attempt to create or manipulate identities. In Botswana, the highest rate of suspected digital fraud in 2025 across the consumer lifecycle occurred at account creation (2.6%), followed by account login (0.8%) and during financial transactions (0.5%).

Botswana’s fraud profile reflects an early- to mid‑stage digital market where onboarding and account creation remain the primary points of exposure. This mirrors broader global and Africa‑wide trends in markets where digital identity systems are still evolving.

“Experience from other countries shows that this phase does not last indefinitely,” Reddy explained. “As consumers build longer term digital relationships with banks, retailers and service providers, fraud risk tends to move beyond onboarding toward login and account access, often through impersonation or credentials misuse.

“The key takeaway for Botswana is timing,” she added. “Strengthening onboarding and early-stage identity checks now can help prevent more complex fraud patterns emerging as digital adoption accelerates. Early safeguards can make a meaningful difference as the digital ecosystem matures.”

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

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry, reflecting local user behaviour and where criminals see opportunity. For attempted transactions involving consumers in Botswana, retail recorded the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2025 at 1.9%.

“Globally and across Africa, fraud often emerges as informal activity gives way to structured, trusted digital services,” Reddy said. “As Botswana continues its transition toward regulated digital ecosystems, it is following well-established international patterns. Embedding security early helps manage risk as adoption grows.”

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

Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

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

For organisations, the findings reinforce that fraud strategies must extend beyond compliance to actively protect trust across the entire consumer lifecycle, particularly at account creation and at points where criminals attempt to exploit established relationships through scams and impersonation.

“Botswana has the advantage of foresight – the global fraud playbook is already written,” Reddy said. The opportunity now is to act before the next phase arrives.”

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 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, Rwanda, 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. 

According to the new TransUnion® (NYSE: TRU) H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, Kenya recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] in the consumer life cycle at account creation. In the first half of 2025, 4.4% of account creation attempts by consumers in the country were suspected of digital fraud. This is in alignment with account creation fraud being the highest in the consumer lifecycle globally where 8.3% of those types of transaction attempts were suspected of digital fraud in H1 2025.

The report, which draws on proprietary data from TransUnion’s global intelligence network from billions of transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps and a consumer survey across 18 countries, reveals that fraud is growing in certain areas.

“In Kenya, the complexity of digital fraud attacks are accelerating as fraudsters leverage AI, impersonation tactics and social engineering to exploit gaps in verification and awareness,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management TransUnion Africa. “Our global business survey found financial losses from fraud are growing, indicating that although some defence mechanisms are working fraudsters are shifting tactics, scaling up or moving into less defended sectors.”  

According to analysis of TransUnion’s customers in its global intelligence network, digital account takeover volume worldwide grew 21% year-over-year (YoY) from H1 2024 to H1 2025, signalling a rapid escalation. The volume of digital account takeovers surged 141% from H1 2021 to H1 2025, underscoring a persistent rise of this fraud type over time and reflecting the increasing sophistication of fraudsters who exploit stolen credentials and bypass authentication systems.

"As account takeover fraud surges, businesses can no longer afford solely reactive defences,” said Reddy. “The growing sophistication of fraudsters demands a proactive investment in layered security and identity intelligence. In today’s threat landscape, protecting customer accounts is not just a priority, it’s a business imperative."

Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud in Video Gaming

Among industries analysed globally, the video gaming sector recorded the highest percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts in the first half of 2025, reaching 13.5%. This represents a significant 28% rate increase compared to the same period in 2024, underscoring the growing vulnerability of this sector to fraudulent activity.

For transactions where the consumer was in Kenya, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in H1 2025 was the highest in the gaming industry, which includes online sports betting and poker, at 10.4%.

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts in Kenya, by Sector

^{Source: TransUnion global intelligence network}

“As the risk from consumer scams threatens identity integrity, organisations should rely on a mixture of data, risk signals, technology and tools to prevent fraud,” said Reddy. “The report highlights that business leaders rank^[2] identity verification, device reputation and behavioural biometrics as the leading three fraud prevention technologies.”

“Businesses and financial institutions should also invest in sustained education and awareness campaigns to mitigate against schemes like account takeovers. Preventing fraud must by necessity be a multi-pronged strategy, if businesses and consumers are to stay ahead of fraudsters whose strategies continue to evolve too,” she said. “By harnessing advanced technologies, fostering cross-sector collaboration and prioritising consumer trust, Kenya can chart a path toward a secure and inclusive digital future.”

Consumer-Reported Exposure to Fraud High Amid Gaps in Awareness and Prevention

Globally, consumers continue to face a wide range of scams, with tactics often tailored to regional behaviours and vulnerabilities. TransUnion’s survey found that 48% of consumers surveyed globally reported being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud from February to May 2025, with 81% of Kenyans saying the same thing. Globally, 52% were unaware that they were targeted, as were 19% of Kenyans, indicating potential fraud under-recognition and a gap in fraud awareness.

Consumers in five of the six African countries surveyed reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type. In Kenya, vishing was the most common fraud type – reported by 46% of those who said they were targeted with fraud from February to May 2025. Among those Kenyans who said they were targeted, the next most frequently reported scams were money or gift card scams (45%), phishing (41%) and smishing (39%). Vishing, phishing and smishing are designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.

Kenya Had the Second Highest Percentage of Respondents in Africa Indicating They Fell Victim to Fraud from February to May 2025

 ^{Source: TransUnion consumer survey}

“Despite high exposure, Kenya is advancing in fraud prevention as financial institutions are adopting AI-powered fraud detection, biometric verification and consumer education initiatives. However, more has to be done to combat fraud attempts in video gaming, where protections should include identity, device and behavioural analytics,” said Reddy. “A safer digital Kenya is achievable when trust becomes a shared responsibility. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics to enrich themselves, it’s more important than ever for consumers to regularly review their credit reports to ensure all listed information is accurate.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from its array 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 Kenya, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] Suspected digital fraud attempts reflect those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation.}

^{[2] As found by TransUnion’s online business survey conducted from 29 May to 6 June 2025 in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata. Findings were included in TransUnion’s H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report}

According to the new TransUnion® (NYSE: TRU) H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, Botswana recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] in the consumer lifecycle at account creation. In the first half of 2025, 2.6% of account creation attempts by consumers in the country were suspected of digital fraud. This is in alignment with account creation fraud being the highest in the consumer lifecycle globally where 8.3% of those types of transaction attempts were suspected of digital fraud in H1 2025.

The report, which draws on proprietary data from TransUnion’s global intelligence network from billions of transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps and a consumer survey across 18 countries, reveals that fraud is growing in certain areas.

“In Botswana, the complexity of digital fraud attacks are accelerating as fraudsters leverage AI, impersonation tactics and social engineering to exploit gaps in verification and awareness,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management TransUnion Africa. “Our global business survey found that financial losses from fraud are growing, indicating that although some defence mechanisms are working fraudsters are shifting tactics, scaling up or moving into less defended sectors.”

According to analysis of TransUnion’s customers in its global intelligence network, digital account takeover volume worldwide grew 21% year-over-year (YoY) from H1 2024 to H1 2025, signalling a rapid escalation. The volume of digital account takeovers surged 141% from H1 2021 to H1 2025, underscoring a persistent rise of this fraud type over time and reflecting the increasing sophistication of fraudsters who exploit stolen credentials and bypass authentication systems.

"As account takeover fraud surges, businesses can no longer afford solely reactive defences,” said Reddy. “The growing sophistication of fraudsters demands a proactive investment in layered security and identity intelligence. In today’s threat landscape, protecting customer accounts is not just a priority, it’s a business imperative."

Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud in Video Gaming

Among industries analysed globally, the video gaming sector recorded the highest percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts in the first half of 2025, reaching 13.5%. This represents a significant 28% rate increase compared to the same period in 2024, underscoring the growing vulnerability of this sector to fraudulent activity.

For transactions where the consumer was in Botswana, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in H1 2025 was the highest in the gaming industry, which includes online sports betting and poker, at 1.8%.

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts in Botswana, by Sector

^{Source: TransUnion global intelligence network}

“As the risk from consumer scams threatens identity integrity, organisations should rely on a mixture of data, risk signals, technology and tools to prevent fraud,” said Reddy. “The report highlights that business leaders rank^[2] identity verification, device reputation and behavioural biometrics as the leading three fraud prevention technologies.”

“Businesses and financial institutions should also invest in sustained education and awareness campaigns to mitigate against schemes like account takeovers. Preventing fraud must by necessity be a multi-pronged strategy, if businesses and consumers are to stay ahead of fraudsters whose strategies continue to evolve too,” she said. “By harnessing advanced technologies, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and prioritising consumer trust, Botswana can chart a path toward a secure and inclusive digital future.”

Consumer-Reported Exposure to Fraud High Amid Gaps in Awareness and Prevention

Globally, consumers continue to face a wide range of scams, with tactics often tailored to regional behaviours and vulnerabilities. TransUnion’s survey found that 48% of consumers surveyed globally reported being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud from February to May 2025, with 74% of Batswana saying the same thing. Globally, 52% were unaware that they were targeted, as were 26% of Batswana, indicating potential fraud under-recognition and a gap in fraud awareness.

Consumers in five of the six African countries surveyed reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type. In Botswana, money or gift card scams was the most common fraud type – reported by 43% of those who said they were targeted with fraud from February to May 2025. Among those Batswana who said they were targeted, the next most frequently reported scams were smishing (39%), vishing (39%), and phishing (38%), with these three designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.

Botswana Had the Lowest Percentage of Respondents in Africa Indicating They Fell Victim to Fraud from February to May 2025

   ^{Source: TransUnion consumer survey}

“As Botswana’s digital economy accelerates, so do the risks. Fraudsters are exploiting gaps in awareness, infrastructure and security. The country has laid a strong digital foundation. Now is the time to strengthen it, and a coordinated response is essential. By leveraging data intelligence, AI-driven fraud prevention, cross-sector collaboration and public education, we can outpace emerging threats and build a digital ecosystem rooted in trust,” said Reddy. “A safer digital Botswana is achievable when trust becomes a shared responsibility. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics to enrich themselves, it’s more important than ever for consumers to regularly review their credit reports to ensure all listed information is accurate.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from its array 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 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, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] Suspected digital fraud attempts reflect those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation.}

^{[2] As found by TransUnion’s online business survey conducted from 29 May to 6 June 2025 in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata. Findings were included in TransUnion’s H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report}

According to the new TransUnion® (NYSE: TRU) H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, Namibia recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] in the consumer life cycle at account creation. In the first half of 2025, 2.8% of account creation attempts by consumers in the country were suspected of digital fraud. This is in alignment with account creation fraud being the highest in the consumer lifecycle globally where 8.3% of those types of transaction attempts were suspected of digital fraud in H1 2025.

The report, which draws on proprietary data from TransUnion’s global intelligence network from billions of transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps and a consumer survey across 18 countries, reveals that fraud is growing in certain areas.

“The complexity of digital fraud attacks are accelerating as fraudsters leverage AI, impersonation tactics and social engineering to exploit gaps in verification and awareness,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management TransUnion Africa. “Our global business survey found financial losses from fraud are growing, indicating that although some defence mechanisms are working fraudsters are shifting tactics, scaling up or moving into less defended sectors.”

According to analysis of TransUnion’s customers in its global intelligence network, digital account takeover volume worldwide grew 21% year-over-year (YoY) from H1 2024 to H1 2025, signalling a rapid escalation. The volume of digital account takeovers surged 141% from H1 2021 to H1 2025, underscoring a persistent rise of this fraud type over time and reflecting the increasing sophistication of fraudsters who exploit stolen credentials and bypass authentication systems.

"As account takeover fraud surges, businesses can no longer afford solely reactive defences,” said Reddy. “The growing sophistication of fraudsters demands a proactive investment in layered security and identity intelligence. In today’s threat landscape, protecting customer accounts is not just a priority, it’s a business imperative."

Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud in Video Gaming

Among industries analysed globally, the video gaming sector recorded the highest percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts in the first half of 2025, reaching 13.5%. This represents a significant 28% rate increase compared to the same period in 2024, underscoring the growing vulnerability of this sector to fraudulent activity.

For transactions where the consumer was in Namibia, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in H1 2025 was the highest in gaming (online sports betting, poker, etc.) at 5.2%.

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts in Namibia, by Sector

^{Source: TransUnion global intelligence network}

“As the risk from consumer scams threatens identity integrity, organisations should rely on a mixture of data, risk signals, technology and tools to prevent fraud,” said Reddy. “The report highlights that business leaders rank^[2] identity verification, device reputation and behavioural biometrics as the leading three fraud prevention technologies.”

“Businesses and financial institutions should also invest in sustained education and awareness campaigns to mitigate against schemes like account takeovers. Preventing fraud must by necessity be a multi-pronged strategy, if businesses and consumers are to stay ahead of fraudsters whose strategies continue to evolve too,” she said. “By harnessing advanced technologies, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and prioritising consumer trust, Namibia can chart a path toward a secure and inclusive digital future.”

Consumer-Reported Exposure to Fraud High Amid Gaps in Awareness and Prevention

Globally, consumers continue to face a wide range of scams, with tactics often tailored to regional behaviours and vulnerabilities. TransUnion’s survey found that 48% of consumers surveyed globally reported being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud from February to May 2025, with 65% of Namibians saying the same thing. Globally, 52% were unaware that they were targeted, as were 35% of Namibians, indicating potential fraud under-recognition and a gap in fraud awareness.

Consumers in five of the six African countries surveyed reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type. In Namibia, money or gift card scams was the most common fraud type – reported by 37% of those who said they were targeted with fraud from February to May 2025. Among those Namibians who said they were targeted, the next most frequently reported scams were vishing (33%), phishing (29%), and smishing (25%), with these three designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.

Namibia Had the Second Lowest Percentage of Respondents in Africa Indicating They Fell Victim to Fraud from February to May 2025

   ^{Source: TransUnion consumer survey}

“Namibia’s digital transformation is unlocking new avenues for growth and inclusion. Yet, fraudsters are evolving faster, exploiting emerging vulnerabilities. Success will hinge on strengthening identity verification frameworks, accelerating cross-industry intelligence sharing, modernizing technology infrastructure, and empowering consumers through education and awareness,” said Reddy. “A safer digital Namibia is achievable when trust becomes a shared responsibility. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics to enrich themselves, it’s more important than ever for consumers to regularly review their credit reports to ensure all listed information is accurate.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from its array 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 Namibia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] Suspected digital fraud attempts reflect those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation.}

^{[2] As found by TransUnion’s online business survey conducted from 29 May to 6 June 2025 in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata. Findings were included in TransUnion’s H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report}

According to the new TransUnion® (NYSE: TRU) H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report, Zambia recorded the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] in the consumer lifecycle at account creation. In the first half of 2025, 11.5% of account creation attempts by consumers in the country was suspected of digital fraud. This is in alignment with account creation fraud being the highest in the consumer lifecycle globally where 8.3% of those types of transaction attempts were suspected of digital fraud in H1 2025.

The report, which draws on proprietary data from TransUnion’s global intelligence network from billions of transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps and a consumer survey across 18 countries, reveals that fraud is growing in certain areas.

“Digital fraud is increasing in Zambia with AI-driven fraud and synthetic identities emerging as significant threats,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management TransUnion Africa. “As mobile and internet penetration grow, fraud risks are expected to increase.”

According to analysis of TransUnion’s customers in its global intelligence network, digital account takeover volume worldwide grew 21% year-over-year (YoY) from H1 2024 to H1 2025, signalling a rapid escalation. The volume of digital account takeovers surged 141% from H1 2021 to H1 2025, underscoring a persistent rise of this fraud type over time and reflecting the increasing sophistication of fraudsters who exploit stolen credentials and bypass authentication systems.

"As account takeover fraud surges, businesses can no longer afford solely reactive defences,” said Reddy. “The growing sophistication of fraudsters demands a proactive investment in layered security and identity intelligence. In today’s threat landscape, protecting customer accounts is not just a priority, it’s a business imperative."

Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud in Video Gaming

Among industries analysed globally, the video gaming sector recorded the highest percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts in the first half of 2025, reaching 13.5%. This represents a significant 28% rate increase compared to the same period in 2024, underscoring the growing vulnerability of this sector to fraudulent activity.

For transactions where the consumer was in Zambia, the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in H1 2025 was the highest in financial services at 1.9%.

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts in Zambia, by Sector

^{Source: TransUnion global intelligence network}

“As the risk from consumer scams threatens identity integrity, organisations should rely on a mixture of data, risk signals, technology and tools to prevent fraud,” said Reddy. “The report highlights that business leaders rank^[2] identity verification, device reputation and behavioural biometrics as the leading three fraud prevention technologies.”

“Businesses and financial institutions should also invest in sustained education and awareness campaigns to mitigate against schemes like account takeovers. Preventing fraud must by necessity be a multi-pronged strategy, if businesses and consumers are to stay ahead of fraudsters whose strategies continue to evolve too,” she said. “By harnessing advanced technologies, fostering cross-sector collaboration and prioritising consumer trust, Zambia can chart a path toward a secure and inclusive digital future.”

Consumer-Reported Exposure to Fraud High Amid Gaps in Awareness and Prevention

Globally, consumers continue to face a wide range of scams, with tactics often tailored to regional behaviours and vulnerabilities. TransUnion’s survey found that 48% of consumers surveyed globally reported being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud from February to May 2025, with 85% of Zambians saying the same thing. Globally, 52% were unaware that they were targeted, as were 15% of Zambians, indicating potential fraud under-recognition and a gap in fraud awareness.

Consumers in five of the six African countries surveyed reported money or gift card scams as the most experienced fraud type. In Zambia, money or gift card scams was the most common fraud type – reported by 49% of those who said they were targeted with fraud from February to May 2025. Among those Zambians who said they were targeted, the next most frequently reported scams were smishing (42%), phishing (35%), and vishing (31%), with these three designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.

Nearly One in Ten Zambians Indicated They Fell Victim to Fraud from February to May 2025, Mid-Range Compared to Other African Countries Studied

   ^{Source: TransUnion consumer survey}

“By leveraging data intelligence, AI-driven fraud prevention, cross-sector collaboration and public education, Zambia can outpace emerging threats and build a digital ecosystem rooted in trust,” said Reddy. “A safer digital Zambia is achievable when trust becomes a shared responsibility. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics to enrich themselves, it’s more important than ever for consumers to regularly review their credit reports to ensure all listed information is accurate.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from its array 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 Zambia, 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, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Download the TransUnion H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] Suspected digital fraud attempts reflect those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation.}

^{[2] As found by TransUnion’s online business survey conducted from 29 May to 6 June 2025 in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata. Findings were included in TransUnion’s H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report}

Eighty-two percent of Kenyans TransUnion surveyed from 21 November to 9 December 2024 indicated that they had been targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last three months with 11% saying that they had become victims. Among those who said they were targeted, the most common reported schemes were smishing where fraudulent text messages try to trick users into sharing personal data (39%), phishing where fraudulent emails, websites, social posts or QR codes are meant to steal personal data (36%), and vishing, where fraudulent phone callers try to induce the user into sharing data (33%).

In a separate question in the same survey, nearly half (45%) said that they lost money to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. More than one third (34%) of those who said they lost money reported it happening via third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail websites. This was followed by 26% of Kenyans losing money via unemployment fraud and 25% losing money from account takeovers.

These and other findings came from research used for building the newly released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which shows how Kenyan consumers continue to be targeted by fraudsters through a wide range of channels.

“Kenya has a 133.7% mobile phone penetration rate, with people using mobile phones to conduct their everyday business, connect with friends, or keep in touch with family, so it’s easy to understand why digital fraud would be such a common tactic among fraudsters targeting this region,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa. "While cybercriminals will attack at any time using any channel, they appear to focus on channels most popular in the regions they are targeting.”

Nineteen percent of Kenyan respondents indicated that they were not aware of being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud at all, which raises questions as to whether these respondents were in fact targeted, yet simply unaware of the threat.

Based on the TransUnion study, Kenya tied Namibia with having the second highest percentage of respondents who said they fell victim to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the second half of 2024 among countries surveyed in Africa. In contrast, Zambia had the lowest percentage of consumers who said they fell victim to fraud in the countries surveyed across the continent.

Table 1: Fraud Types Most Frequently Used to Target Consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Last Three Months

   Source: TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey of 500 people in Kenya in December 2024

Communities and Video Gaming Among Top Industries Targeted by Suspected Digital Fraud

Globally, TransUnion determined communities (online forums and dating sites) experienced the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] attempts in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted transactions within communities were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This is closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming (including online betting, poker, etc.) at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organized crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. The fraud rate remains at a relatively modest 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

“Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. In 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigour,” said Reddy. “Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, and target members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.”

For attempted transactions where the consumer or fraudster was located in Kenya, gaming experienced the highest suspected attempted digital fraud rate in 2024 at 12.9% with a 33.8% increase in the volume of suspected digital fraud from 2023.

“It is encouraging to see that attempts at digital fraud have decreased across all but two of the surveyed industries in Kenya,” Reddy says. “Organisations that draw on identity, device and behavioural insights to help them interact with legitimate consumers while mitigating fraud risk are more likely to protect themselves and their customers from the scourge of digital fraud.”

Table 2: Highest Digital Fraud Rates Across Leading Industries in Kenya

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

Fraud Comes with a Heavy Cost to Consumers

Consumers faced significant losses due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. The survey determined that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was Ksh226,132. For those who said they lost money due to fraud in Kenya, the median stated amount lost was Ksh116,108^[2].

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Kenya, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Namibia the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. 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 represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.}

^{[2] Based on the exchange rate on 6 Jan. 2025}

Globally, TransUnion found communities experienced the highest rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted transactions within communities were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This was closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organised crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. That being said, the fraud rate remains at a relatively modest at 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

“Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. In 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigour,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa. “Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, and target members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.

“It is encouraging to see that attempts at digital fraud have decreased across all but two of the surveyed industries in Botswana,” Reddy says. “Organisations that draw on identity, device and behavioural insights to help them interact with legitimate consumers while mitigating fraud risk are more likely to protect themselves and their customers from the scourge of digital fraud.”

Highest Digital Fraud Rates Across Leading Industries in Botswana

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™                                                                     

*Insurance, government, video gaming, logistics, travel and leisure and communications were not included due to low transaction volumes in these sectors

Fraud Comes with a Heavy Cost to Consumers

Consumers faced significant losses due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. The survey determined that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was BWP23,957^[2].

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya Mexico, Namibia the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. 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 represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.}

^{[2] Based on the exchange rate on 23 April 2025}

Sixty-seven percent of Rwandans TransUnion surveyed from 21 November to 11 December 2024 indicated that they had been targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last three months with 10% saying that they had become victims. Among those who said they were targeted, the most common reported schemes were money mule scams where users are solicited to move illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else (30%), social engineering scams where users are persuaded to give personal information or money (29%) and unemployment fraud (27%).

In a separate question from that same survey, more than four in ten (44%) said that they had lost money to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. Nearly three in ten (29%) of those who said they lost money reported it happening from money mule scams. This was followed by 24% from third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail sites and 23% from social engineering scams.

These and other findings came from research used for building the newly released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which shows how Rwandan consumers continue to be targeted by fraudsters through a wide range of channels.

“Rwandans use mobile phones to conduct their everyday business, connect with friends, or send and receive money, so it’s easy to understand why digital fraud would be such a common tactic among fraudsters targeting consumers in this region,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa. "While cybercriminals will attack at any time using any channel, they appear to focus on channels most popular in the regions they are targeting.”

One-third (33%) of Rwandan respondents indicated that they were not aware of being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud at all, which raises questions as to whether these respondents were in fact targeted, yet simply unaware of the threat.

Based on the TransUnion study, Rwanda had the second lowest percentage of respondents among countries surveyed in Africa who said they fell victim to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the second half of 2024. In contrast, South Africa had the highest percentage of consumers who said they fell victim to fraud in the countries surveyed across the continent.

Table 1: Fraud Types Most Frequently Used to Target Consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Last Three Months

   Source: TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey of 361 Rwandans in December 2024

Communities and Video Gaming Among Top Industries Targeted by Suspected Digital Fraud

Globally, TransUnion determined that communities (online forums and dating sites) experienced the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] attempts in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted transactions within communities were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This is closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming (including online betting, poker, etc.) at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organized crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. The fraud rate remains at a relatively modest 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

“Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. In 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigour,” said Reddy. “Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, and target members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.”

For attempted transactions where the consumer or fraudster was located in Rwanda, retail experienced the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2024 at 7.9% with an 11.7% decrease in the volume of suspected digital fraud from 2023. The biggest increase in suspected digital fraud attempts was in gaming transactions, rising 12.5% YoY.

“It is encouraging to see that attempts at digital fraud have decreased across half of the surveyed industries in Rwanda,” Reddy says. “Organisations that draw on identity, device and behavioural insights to help them interact with legitimate consumers while mitigating fraud risk are more likely to protect themselves and their customers from the scourge of digital fraud.”

Table 2: Highest Digital Fraud Rates Across Leading Industries in Rwanda

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

*Insurance, government, video gaming and logistics were not included due to low transaction volumes in these sectors

Fraud Comes with a Heavy Cost to Consumers

Consumers faced significant losses due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. The survey determined that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was RF 2,440,559. For those who said they lost money due to fraud in Rwanda, the median stated amount lost was RF 733,425^[2].

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Rwanda, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya Mexico, Namibia the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. 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 represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.}

^{[2] Based on the exchange rate on 6 Jan. 2025}

Seventy-nine percent of Zambians TransUnion surveyed from 21 November to 11 December 2024 indicated that they had been targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last three months with 9% saying that they had become victims in the last three months. Among those who said they were targeted, the most reported schemes were smishing where fraudulent text messages attempt to trick users into revealing data (35%), phishing where fraudulent emails, websites, social posts or QR codes attempt to steal data (32%), vishing where fraudulent phone calls induce users to reveal information (26%) and social engineering scams where fraudsters try to persuade people to give them personal information (26%).

In a separate question in the same survey, more than one third (36%) said that they had lost money to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. Nearly three in ten (27%) of Zambians who said they lost money reported it happening from third-party seller scams on legitimate retail websites. This was followed by 24% who had lost money in money mule scams where users are solicited to transfer illegally acquired money and 19% who lost money in social engineering scams where someone is persuaded to give up personal information or money.

These and other findings came from research used for building the recently released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which shows how Zambian consumers continue to be targeted by fraudsters through a wide range of channels.

“Zambians use mobile phones to conduct their everyday business, connect with friends, or send and receive money, so it’s easy to understand why smishing would be such a common fraud tactic among fraudsters targeting this region,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa. "While cybercriminals will attack at any time using any channel, they appear to focus on channels most popular in the regions they are targeting.”

More than one fifth (21%) of Zambian respondents indicated that they were not aware of being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud at all, which raises questions as to whether these respondents were in fact targeted yet were simply unaware of the threat.

Based on the TransUnion study, Zambia had the lowest percentage of respondents among countries surveyed in Africa who said they fell victim to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the second half of 2024. In contrast, South Africa had the highest percentage of consumers who said they fell victim to fraud among the countries surveyed across the continent.

Table 1: Fraud Types Most Frequently Used to Target Consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Last Three Months

   Source: TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey of 411 people in Zambia in December 2024

Communities and Video Gaming Among Top Industries Targeted by Suspected Digital Fraud

Globally, TransUnion determined that communities (online forums and dating sites) experienced the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] attempts in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted transactions within communities were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This is closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming (including online betting, poker, etc.) at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organized crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. The fraud rate remains at a relatively modest 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

“Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. In 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigour,” said Reddy. “Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, and target members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.”

For attempted transactions where the consumer or fraudster was located in Zambia, retail experienced the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2024 at 6.8% with a 15.4% increase in the volume of suspected digital fraud from 2023. The biggest increase in suspected digital fraud attempts was in insurance which increased 311.1% YoY.

“It is encouraging to see that attempts at digital fraud have decreased across all but three of the surveyed industries in Zambia,” Reddy says. “Organisations that draw on identity, device and behavioural insights to help them interact with legitimate consumers while mitigating fraud risk are more likely to protect themselves and their customers from the scourge of digital fraud.”

Table 2: Highest Digital Fraud Rates Across Leading Industries in Zambia

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

Digital Fraud Comes with a Heavy Cost to Consumers

Consumers faced significant losses due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. The survey determined that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was ZK48,787. For those who said they lost money due to fraud in Zambia, the median stated amount lost was ZK6,479^[2].

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Zambia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya Mexico, Namibia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. 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 represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.}

^{[2] Based on the exchange rate on 6 Jan. 2025}

Sixty-three percent of Namibians TransUnion surveyed from 21 November to 11 December 2024 indicated that they had been targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last three months, with 11% saying that they had become victims. Among those who said they were targeted, the most common reported schemes were vishing, where fraudulent phone callers try to induce the user into sharing data (30%), phishing, where fraudulent emails, websites, social posts or QR codes are meant to steal personal data (24%), and third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail sites (22%).

In a separate question from that same survey, nearly one third (31%) said that they had lost money to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. One third (33%) of those who said they lost money reported it happening from stolen credit cards or fraudulent charges. This was followed by 27% who lost money via third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail sites, and 21% who lost money via phishing.

These and other findings came from research used for building the newly released TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which shows how Namibian consumers continue to be targeted by fraudsters through a wide range of channels.

“Namibia has a 110% mobile phone penetration rate, with people using mobile phones to conduct their everyday business, connect with friends, or keep in touch with family, so it’s easy to understand why digital fraud would be such a common tactic among fraudsters targeting this region,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa. "While cybercriminals will attack at any time using any channel, they appear to focus on channels most popular in the regions they are targeting.”

Thirty-seven percent of Namibian respondents indicated that they were not aware of being targeted by email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud at all, which raises questions as to whether these respondents were in fact targeted, yet simply unaware of the threat.

Based on the TransUnion study, Namibia tied Kenya with having the second highest percentage of respondents who said they fell victim to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the second half of 2024 among countries surveyed in Africa. In contrast, Zambia had the lowest percentage of consumers who said they fell victim to fraud in the countries surveyed across the continent.

Table 1: Fraud Types Most Frequently Used to Target Consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Last Three Months

   Source: TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey of 308 people in Namibia in December 2024

Communities and Video Gaming Among Top Industries Targeted by Suspected Digital Fraud

Globally, TransUnion determined that communities (online forums and dating sites) experienced the highest rate of suspected digital fraud^[1] attempts in 2024. Nearly 12% of all attempted transactions within communities were suspected to be digital fraud last year. This is closely followed by video gaming (11%), with gaming (including online betting, poker, etc.) at 8% and retail (8%) rounding out the top four.

The logistics industry, which has seen growth in shipping fraud (often perpetrated by organized crime rings), saw the greatest suspected digital fraud volume growth globally in 2024, up more than 100% over 2023. The fraud rate remains at a relatively modest 3%. Gaming also saw a significant year-over-year (YoY) volume change, up 20%. Telecommunications (-79%), insurance (-29%) and video gaming (-23%) saw the greatest decreases in suspected digital fraud volume YoY.

“Digital fraud on community platforms is by no means a new phenomenon. In 2024, it appears that fraudsters targeted these areas with a renewed vigour,” said Reddy. “Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust inherent on community-based platforms, and target members with a wide range of scammer solicitations, the most reported type of digital fraud in communities.”

For attempted transactions where the consumer or fraudster was located in Namibia, retail experienced the highest suspected attempted digital fraud rate in 2024 at 8.4% with a 68.5% increase in the volume of suspected digital fraud from 2023. There was a significant 111.8% increase in the volume of suspected digital fraud attempts in the travel and leisure industry YoY, albeit off a low base.

“It is encouraging to see that attempts at digital fraud have decreased across several of the surveyed industries in Namibia,” Reddy says. “Organisations that draw on identity, device and behavioural insights to help them interact with legitimate consumers while mitigating fraud risk are more likely to protect themselves and their customers from the scourge of digital fraud.”

Table 2: Highest Digital Fraud Rates Across Leading Industries in Namibia

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

*The volume of transactions in logistics, insurance and government was too low for inclusion in this study

Fraud Comes with a Heavy Cost to Consumers

Consumers faced significant losses due to fraud. Among consumers TransUnion surveyed in 18 countries and regions in November and December 2024, 29% said they lost money due to email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud in the last year. The survey determined that the median amount those consumers said they lost due to fraud in the past year was N$32,428. For those who said they lost money due to fraud in Namibia, the median stated amount lost was N$11,174^[2].

TransUnion came to its conclusions about digital fraud based on intelligence from TransUnion TruValidate.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Namibia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2025 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

^{[1] The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. 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 represents every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.}

^{[2] Based on the exchange rate on 6 Jan. 2025}

The analysis reviewed attempted ecommerce transactions from across the globe and found that 4.6% worldwide were suspected to be Digital Fraud over the same period. Based on proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network, TransUnion found that the global suspected Digital Fraud rate was down from 6.0% during the same period in 2023.

The study determined that the average volume of suspected Digital Fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 30.2% lower than the same period in 2023 and 5.9% lower than during the rest of the year (1 January 2024 to 27 November 2024).

The Percentage of Suspected Ecommerce Fraud during Black Friday season vs. Overall

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

“Across Africa, we have observed that Black Friday shopping has extended beyond the original five-day period, with retailers promoting sales throughout the entire month of November. We anticipate that the general lengthening of the holiday shopping season were factors in the decline in suspected Digital Fraud during the time under analysis compared to the rest of the year for most Africa countries,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director for solutions at TransUnion Africa. “For online retailers, this speaks to the need to maintain diligence year-round. For the remainder of this holiday shopping season, and beyond, online retailers must continue to implement tools that maintain a friction-right experience, wherein both business and consumer is protected without major disruption.”

The greatest fraud disruptions globally over the analysed period occurred on Thursday, 28 November with 5.3% of all attempted digital retail transactions on that day suspected to be Digital Fraud. The analysis also revealed the retail suspected Digital Fraud rate for each day in the analysed shopping period for attempted transactions where the consumer was in each of the six African countries studied, and highlighted the day on which the most suspected Digital Fraud took place.

The Suspected Ecommerce Fraud Rate Varies for Each Day of the 2024 Holiday Shopping Weekend

Source: TransUnion TruValidate

As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top signals indicating risk of fraudulent ecommerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally. This year, unusually high transaction volume from a single device and devices being newly associated with an account were among the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.

“This international shopping period is always hugely impactful to retailers’ bottom lines, and our recent Consumer Pulse Study that consumers may be particularly eager to buy during this holiday shopping season,” said Reddy. “It’s as important as ever for retailers to equip themselves with the tools they need to detect fraud early. These tools can help minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate transactions. Retailers should seek to implement holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity as early as possible during a transaction.” 

Consumers and businesses can take steps to prevent fraudulent activity:

For consumers:

1. Verify website security: Ensure that the websites you shop from use secure protocols (look for "https" in the URL).
2. Be sceptical of unrealistic deals: Bad actors often lure shoppers with "too good to be true" discounts.
3. Use secure payment methods: Utilise verifiable, trusted, and secure payment methods.
4. Protect personal information: Share only necessary information during transactions to avoid identity theft.
5. Monitor financial statements: Regularly review bank and credit card statements, store cards, etc., for unauthorised activity.
6. Beware of phishing scams: Avoid clicking links or downloading attachments from unknown emails or texts.
7. Strengthen account security: Use strong, unique passwords and enable multi-factor authentication on critical accounts.

For businesses:

1. Train employees: Educate employees on spotting fraud threats.
2. Communicate with consumers: Send warnings on fraud tactics and how to verify legitimate vs. illegitimate transactions.
3. Leverage real-time fraud verification tools: Monitor transactions closely for anomalies, especially during peak shopping periods.
4. Establish clear protocols: Set clear protocols for reporting and responding to fraudulent attempts.

These preventive measures are crucial, especially considering TransUnion's findings on Digital Fraud. TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences – TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed. The country and regional analyses examined transactions in which the consumer or suspected fraudster was located in a select country and region when conducting a transaction. Global statistics represent every country worldwide.

To find out how this data varies by select countries and more, TransUnion’s holiday fraud trends can be found here.

In the first half (H1) of 2024, 1.6% of all attempted digital transactions where the consumer was located in Namibia were identified as suspected Digital Fraud in a recent TransUnion® (NYSE:TRU) analysis. Namibia had the lowest rate of suspected Digital Fraud in the first half of 2024 out of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns.

TransUnion also determined that retail, gaming and financial services were the industries that had the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate for transactions where the consumer was in Namibia during the analysis period.

Some of these findings are in the newly released TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which explores fraud trends in the first half (Jan. 1-June 30) of this year. It found that some industries were particularly targeted, even though Digital Fraud affects many industries in Namibia.

This is at a time when 63% of Namibian consumers said in Q2 2024 that they were targeted by online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months, a decline from 70% in Q3 2023^[1].

“Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve. In that sense, businesses should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.

Table 1: Industries with the Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts Where the Consumer was in Namibia in H1 2024

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

The communities industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud globally in H1 2024, according to data in TransUnion TruValidate. Globally, TransUnion’s communities customers reported profile misrepresentation (where a user posts inaccurate information in a profile and/or uses bogus profile photos) as the most frequent type of Digital Fraud they witnessed in H1 2024. Communities was the industry with the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate in seven of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns in H1 2024.

New Account Fraud Risk Threatens Digital Experiences

Digital fraud can occur at different steps in a customer’s transaction process, and more than two-thirds of business leaders surveyed by TransUnion indicated that at least 25% of their organisation’s new account openings are done online, with more than a third saying that it was 51% or more^[2]. For attempted transactions where the consumer was in Namibia, 4.2% of attempted digital account openings were suspected of Digital Fraud, with 1.6% of attempted digital account logins being suspected of Digital Fraud.

“Digital Fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear,” said Lara Enslin, CEO TransUnion Namibia. “Now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponizing identity data at scale to perpetuate first- and third-party fraud schemes. Fraud prevention is a necessary cost that needs to be as efficient as possible, using better data and risk signals, advanced analytics, and integrated technology, without increasing lost business and additional expense from false positives.”

TransUnion also determined synthetic identity fraud (the use of personally identifiable information or PII to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain) was the fastest growing Digital Fraud type volume-wise reported to TransUnion by its customers from H2 2023 to H1 2024, increasing 153%. Electronic fund transfers (also known as ACH/debit payments) fraud saw the highest YoY volume growth, up 113% from H1 2023 to H1 2024. However, promotion abuse (consumers or fraudsters taking advantage of marketing offers to receive unintended financial incentives) was the most common Digital Fraud type globally in H1 2024, accounting for 3.6% of all Digital Fraud reported to TransUnion by its customers.

About the Analysis

TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflect those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud. 

Download the TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report to learn more. Specific country and regional data in the report include Namibia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia.

^[1] Namibia Consumers Show a Growing Awareness of the Importance of Financial Preparedness

^[2] TransUnion business survey of 801 business leaders from May 14–29, 2024

In the first half (H1) of 2024, 3.0% of all attempted digital transactions where the consumer was located in Botswana were identified as suspected Digital Fraud in a recent TransUnion® (NYSE:TRU) analysis. Botswana had the fifth lowest rate of suspected Digital Fraud in the first half of 2024 out of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided regional breakdowns.

TransUnion also determined that gaming, financial services and retail were the industries that had the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate for transactions where the consumer was in Botswana during the analysis period.

Some of these findings are in the newly released TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which explores fraud trends in the first half (Jan. 1-June 30) of this year. It found that some industries were particularly targeted, even though Digital Fraud affects many industries in Botswana.

This is at a time when 77% of Botswana consumers said in Q2 2024 that they were targeted with online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months, and of those consumers only 5% reported falling victim^[1].

“Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve. In that sense, businesses should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.

Table 1: Industries with the Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts Where the Consumer was in Botswana in H1 2024

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

The communities industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud globally in H1 2024, according to data in TransUnion TruValidate. Globally, TransUnion’s communities customers reported profile misrepresentation (where a user posts inaccurate information in a profile and/or uses bogus profile photos) as the most frequent type of Digital Fraud they witnessed in H1 2024. Communities was the industry with the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate in seven of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns in H1 2024.

New Account Fraud Risk Threatens Digital Experiences

Digital fraud can occur at different steps in a customer’s transaction process, and more than two-thirds of business leaders surveyed by TransUnion indicated that at least 25% of their organisation’s new account openings are done online, with more than a third saying that it was 51% or more^[2]. For transactions where the consumer was in Botswana, 3.7% of digital account opening attempts were suspected of Digital Fraud, with 3.1% of digital account login attempts also being suspected of Digital Fraud in H1 2024.

“Digital Fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear,” said Kabelo Ramaselwana, CEO TransUnion Botswana. “Now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponizing identity data at scale to perpetuate first- and third-party fraud schemes. Fraud prevention is a necessary cost that needs to be as efficient as possible, using better data and risk signals, advanced analytics, and integrated technology, without increasing lost business and additional expense from false positives.”

TransUnion also determined synthetic identity fraud (the use of personally identifiable information or PII to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain) was the fastest growing Digital Fraud type volume-wise globally reported to TransUnion by its customers from H2 2023 to H1 2024, increasing 153%. Electronic fund transfers (also known as ACH/debit payments) fraud saw the highest YoY volume growth worldwide, up 113% from H1 2023 to H1 2024. However, promotion abuse (consumers or fraudsters taking advantage of marketing offers to receive unintended financial incentives) was the most common Digital Fraud type globally in H1 2024, accounting for 3.6% of all Digital Fraud reported to TransUnion by its customers.

About the Analysis

TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences – TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed.

Download the TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report to learn more. Specific country and regional data in the report include Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia.

^[1] TransUnion survey of 500 Botswana consumers from May 1-20, 2024

^[2] TransUnion business survey of 801 business leaders from May 14–29, 2024

In the first half (H1) of 2024, 3.7% of all attempted digital transactions where the consumer was located in Rwanda were identified as suspected Digital Fraud in a recent TransUnion® (NYSE:TRU) analysis. Rwanda had the sixth lowest rate of suspected Digital Fraud in the first half of 2024 out of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided regional breakdowns.

TransUnion also determined that retail, financial services and communities (online dating, forums etc.) were the industries that had the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate for transactions where the consumer was in Rwanda during the analysis period.

Some of these findings are in the newly released TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which explores fraud trends in the first half (Jan. 1-June 30) of this year. It found that some industries were particularly targeted, even though Digital Fraud affects many industries in Rwanda.

This is at a time when 61% of Rwandan consumers said in Q2 2024 that they were targeted with online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months, and of those consumers only 11% reported falling victim^[1].

“Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve. In that sense, businesses should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.

Table 1: Industries with the Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts Where the Consumer was in Rwanda in H1 2024

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

The communities industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud globally in H1 2024, according to data in TransUnion TruValidate. Globally, TransUnion’s communities customers reported profile misrepresentation (where a user posts inaccurate information in a profile and/or uses bogus profile photos) as the most frequent type of Digital Fraud they witnessed in H1 2024. Communities was the industry with the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate in seven of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns in H1 2024.

New Account Fraud Risk Threatens Digital Experiences

Digital fraud can occur at different steps in a customer’s transaction process, and more than two-thirds of business leaders surveyed by TransUnion indicated that at least 25% of their organisation’s new account openings are done online, with more than a third saying that it was 51% or more ^[2]. For transactions where the consumer was in Rwanda, 5.4% of digital account opening attempts were suspected of Digital Fraud, with 4.3% of digital account login attempts also being suspected of Digital Fraud in H1 2024.

“Digital Fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear,” said Samuel Tayengwa, CEO of TransUnion Rwanda. “Now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponizing identity data at scale to perpetuate first- and third-party fraud schemes. Fraud prevention is a necessary cost that needs to be as efficient as possible, using better data and risk signals, advanced analytics, and integrated technology, without increasing lost business and additional expense from false positives.”

TransUnion also determined synthetic identity fraud (the use of personally identifiable information or PII to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain) was the fastest growing Digital Fraud type volume-wise globally reported to TransUnion by its customers from H2 2023 to H1 2024, increasing 153%. Electronic fund transfers (also known as ACH/debit payments) fraud saw the highest YoY volume growth worldwide, up 113% from H1 2023 to H1 2024. However, promotion abuse (consumers or fraudsters taking advantage of marketing offers to receive unintended financial incentives) was the most common Digital Fraud type globally in H1 2024, accounting for 3.6% of all Digital Fraud reported to TransUnion by its customers.

About the Analysis

TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences – TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed.

Download the TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report to learn more. Specific country and regional data in the report include Rwanda, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia.

^[1] TransUnion survey of Rwandan consumers from May 1-20, 2024

^[2] TransUnion business survey of 801 business leaders from May 14–29, 2024

In the first half (H1) of 2024, 4.6% of all attempted digital transactions where the consumer was located in Kenya were identified as suspected Digital Fraud in a recent TransUnion® (NYSE:TRU) analysis. Kenya had the 10th highest rate of suspected Digital Fraud in the first half of 2024 out of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided regional breakdowns.

TransUnion also determined that retail, gaming, and communities (online dating, forums etc.) were the industries that had the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate for transactions where the consumer was in Kenya during the analysis period.

Some of these findings are in the newly released TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which explores fraud trends in the first half (Jan. 1-June 30) of this year. It found that some industries were particularly targeted, even though Digital Fraud affects many industries in Kenya.

This is at a time when 80% of Kenyan consumers said in Q2 2024 that they were targeted with online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months, and of those consumers only 8% reported falling victim^[1].

"Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve. In that sense, businesses should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.

Table 1: Industries with the Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts Where the Consumer was in Kenya in H1 2024

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

The communities industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud globally in H1 2024, according to data in TransUnion TruValidate. Globally, TransUnion’s communities customers reported profile misrepresentation (where a user posts inaccurate information in a profile and/or uses bogus profile photos) as the most frequent type of Digital Fraud they witnessed in H1 2024. Communities was the industry with the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate in seven of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns in H1 2024.

New Account Fraud Risk Threatens Digital Experiences

Digital fraud can occur at different steps in a customer’s transaction process, and more than two-thirds of business leaders surveyed by TransUnion indicated that at least 25% of their organisation’s new account openings are done online, with more than a third saying that it was 51% or more^[2].  For transactions where the consumer was in Kenya, 4.8% of digital account login attempts were suspected of Digital Fraud, with 4.8% of digital account opening attempts also being suspected of Digital Fraud in H1 2024.

“Digital Fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear,” said Morris Maina, CEO of TransUnion Kenya. “Now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponizing identity data at scale to perpetuate first- and third-party fraud schemes. Fraud prevention is a necessary investment that needs to be as efficient as possible, using better data and risk signals, advanced analytics, and integrated technology, without increasing lost business and additional expense from false positives.”

TransUnion also determined synthetic identity fraud (the use of personally identifiable information or PII to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain) was the fastest growing Digital Fraud type volume-wise globally reported to TransUnion by its customers from H2 2023 to H1 2024, increasing 153%. Electronic fund transfers (also known as ACH/debit payments) fraud saw the highest YoY volume growth worldwide, up 113% from H1 2023 to H1 2024. However, promotion abuse (consumers or fraudsters taking advantage of marketing offers to receive unintended financial incentives) was the most common Digital Fraud type globally in H1 2024, accounting for 3.6% of all Digital Fraud reported to TransUnion by its customers.

About the Analysis

TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences – TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed.

Download the TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report to learn more. Specific country and regional data in the report include Kenya, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Namibia, South Africa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Spain, the United Kingdom, United States, and Zambia.

^[1] TransUnion survey of 500 Kenyans from May 1-10, 2024

^[2] TransUnion business survey of 801 business leaders from May 14–29, 2024

In the first half (H1) of 2024, 1.9% of all attempted digital transactions where the consumer was located in Zambia were identified as suspected Digital Fraud in a recent TransUnion® (NYSE:TRU) analysis. Zambia had the second lowest rate of suspected Digital Fraud in the first half of 2024 out of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided regional breakdowns.

TransUnion also determined that retail, financial services and gaming were the industries that had the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate for transactions where the consumer was in Zambia during the analysis period.

Some of these findings are in the newly released TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report, which explores fraud trends in the first half (Jan. 1-June 30) of this year. It found that some industries were particularly targeted, even though Digital Fraud affects many industries in Zambia.

This is at a time when 83% of Zambian consumers said in Q2 2024 that they were targeted with online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months, and of those consumers only 8% reported falling victim^[1].

“Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve. In that sense, businesses should ensure that they are taking advantage of fraud prevention technologies such as identity verification, IP intelligence, device reputation and synthetic identity detection as critical components of their fraud prevention programs,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.

Table 1: Industries with the Highest Rate of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts Where the Consumer was in Zambia in H1 2024

Source: TransUnion TruValidate™

The communities industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud globally in H1 2024, according to data in TransUnion TruValidate. Globally, TransUnion’s communities customers reported profile misrepresentation (where a user posts inaccurate information in a profile and/or uses bogus profile photos) as the most frequent type of Digital Fraud they witnessed in H1 2024. Communities was the industry with the highest suspected Digital Fraud rate in seven of the 19 countries and regions for which TransUnion provided breakdowns in H1 2024.

New Account Fraud Risk Threatens Digital Experiences

Digital fraud can occur at different steps in a customer’s transaction process, and more than two-thirds of business leaders surveyed by TransUnion indicated that at least 25% of their organisation’s new account openings are done online, with more than a third saying that it was 51% or more^[2]. For transactions where the consumer was in Zambia, 12.7% of digital account opening attempts were suspected of Digital Fraud, with 1.5% of digital account login attempts also being suspected of Digital Fraud in H1 2024.

“Digital Fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear,” said Mildred Stephenson, CEO of TransUnion Zambia. “Now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponizing identity data at scale to perpetuate first- and third-party fraud schemes. Fraud prevention is a necessary cost that needs to be as efficient as possible, using better data and risk signals, advanced analytics, and integrated technology, without increasing lost business and additional expense from false positives.”

TransUnion also determined synthetic identity fraud (the use of personally identifiable information or PII to fabricate a person or entity in order to commit a dishonest act for personal or financial gain) was the fastest growing Digital Fraud type volume-wise globally reported to TransUnion by its customers from H2 2023 to H1 2024, increasing 153%. Electronic fund transfers (also known as ACH/debit payments) fraud saw the highest YoY volume growth worldwide, up 113% from H1 2023 to H1 2024. However, promotion abuse (consumers or fraudsters taking advantage of marketing offers to receive unintended financial incentives) was the most common Digital Fraud type globally in H1 2024, accounting for 3.6% of all Digital Fraud reported to TransUnion by its customers.

About the Analysis

TransUnion came to its conclusions about Digital Fraud based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite that helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences – TransUnion TruValidate. The rate or percentage of suspected Digital Fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion customers 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 customer investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon customer investigation — compared to all transactions assessed.

Download the TransUnion H2 2024 Update to the State of Omnichannel Fraud Report to learn more. Specific country and regional data in the report include Zambia, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Mexico, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

^[1] TransUnion survey of 500 Zambian consumers from May 1-20, 2024

^[2] TransUnion business survey of 801 business leaders from May 14–29, 2024

Globally, the analysis found 3.6% of all e-commerce transactions over the Black Friday period (23 – 27 November 2023) were suspected to be fraudulent. TransUnion also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that period globally was 15% higher than the same period in 2022, yet 50% lower than during the rest of 2023.^[1]

The Percentage of Suspected E-Commerce Fraud at the Beginning of the Festive Shopping Season, Compared to the Rest of the Year

* ^{Includes Nov. 11 for Hong Kong}

“Just as the holiday season drives consumers online to begin shopping for gifts for their loved ones, so does it become a destination for fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this time for their financial gain,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion. “Online retailers must ensure that consumers shopping their sites for the best deals are at the same time protected from fraud in the most seamless and friction-right way possible.”

The study also revealed the suspected digital fraud rate for each day in the holiday shopping period for transactions where the consumer was in Rwanda during the transaction and globally. Unlike last year when the Thursday (24 November 2022) of the Black Friday shopping weekend saw the highest suspected digital fraud rate of 4.9%, this rate was the highest on Saturday 25 November.

The Suspected Digital Fraud Rate Varies for Each Day of the 2023 Holiday Shopping Weekend

As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top indicators of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally. This year, transactions per IP (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single Internet Protocol (IP) address to a customer’s site in a short time) and transactions per device (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single device to a customer’s site in a short time) were the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.

“Anecdotally, we hear that payment card issuers tend to use a different model during holiday shopping periods to allow more authorisations to complete quickly,” said Samuel Tayengwa, chief executive officer at TransUnion Rwanda.  “It seems that a similar tactic is being used by retailers concerned that any friction may drive consumers away, reflecting the elevated competition and aggressiveness of retailers to ensure greater shopping volume.”

Criminals exploit the lowered drawbridge

Criminal organisations look forward to this period of lax fraud controls. Knowing that guards are lowered, they commit account takeovers to empty loyalty points programs and make purchases using the hijacked customer’s existing payment wallet, for example. For retailers that allow guest checkouts, fraudsters will transact using stolen payment cards they’ve purchased from the dark web or have previously harvested from other data breach attacks.

While online sales numbers for retailers are now known, retailers will have to wait and hope that fraud losses do not pile up. The challenge is that they won’t know for some time; merchants will have to wait for an uptick in chargebacks, returns, and customer disputes before that becomes clear.

“The upcoming holidays mark the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers, but equipping themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign is a year-round priority,” said Tayengwa. “A critical way to minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate ones involves implementing holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction, including both account creation and login.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions primarily based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite, TransUnion TruValidate™, which helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences. The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflect interactions which TransUnion customers either denied in real time due to fraudulent indicators or determined to be fraudulent after a manual review process—compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

To find out how this data varies by select countries and more, TransUnion’s holiday fraud insights can be found here.

Consumers interested in obtaining their TransUnion credit report can access the TransUnion Menyesha app by dialling *707# in Rwanda.

^[1] For Hong Kong, all holiday analysis also includes Nov. 11

Globally, the analysis found 3.6% of all e-commerce transactions over the Black Friday period (23 – 27 November 2023) were suspected to be fraudulent. TransUnion also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 15% higher than the same period in 2022, yet 50% lower than during the rest of 2023.^[1]

The Percentage of Suspected E-Commerce Fraud at the Beginning of the Festive Shopping Season, Compared to the Rest of the Year

* ^{Includes 11 November for Hong Kong}

“Just as the holiday season drives consumers online to begin shopping for gifts for their loved ones, so does it become a destination for fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this time for their financial gain,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion. “Online retailers must ensure that consumers shopping their sites for the best deals are at the same time protected from fraud in the most seamless and friction-right way possible.”

The study also revealed the suspected digital fraud rate for each day in the holiday shopping period for transactions where the consumer was in Zambia during the transaction and globally. Unlike last year when the Sunday (27 November 2022) of the holiday shopping weekend saw the highest suspected digital fraud rate of 1.83%, the rate during the 2023 holiday period was the highest on Thursday 23 November, at 11.6%.

The Suspected Digital Fraud Rate Varies for Each Day of the 2023 Holiday Shopping Weekend

As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top indicators of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally. This year, transactions per IP (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single Internet Protocol (IP) address to a customer’s site in a short time) and transactions per device (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single device to a customer’s site in a short time) were the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.

“The upcoming holidays mark the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers, but equipping themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign is a year-round priority said Mildred Stephenson, chief executive officer at TransUnion Zambia.  “A critical way to minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate ones involves implementing holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction, including both account creation and login.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions primarily based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite, TransUnion TruValidate™, which helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences. The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflect interactions which TransUnion customers either denied in real time due to fraudulent indicators or determined to be fraudulent after a manual review process—compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

To find out how this data varies by select countries and more, TransUnion’s holiday fraud insights can be found here.

Consumers interested in obtaining their TransUnion credit report can dial 0211 220 530/36/420500 and 0955985107/5307, or send an email to CustomerCareZM@transunion.com then follow the instructions.

^[1] For Hong Kong, all holiday analysis also includes Nov. 11

Globally, the analysis found 3.6% of all e-commerce transactions over the Black Friday period (23 – 27 November 2023) were suspected to be fraudulent. TransUnion also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that period globally was 15% higher than the same period in 2022, yet 50% lower than during the rest of 2023. ^[1]

The Percentage of Suspected E-Commerce Fraud at the Beginning of the Festive Shopping Season, Compared to the Rest of the Year

* ^{Includes 11 November for Hong Kong}

“Just as the holiday season drives consumers online to begin shopping for gifts for their loved ones, so does it become a destination for fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this time for their financial gain,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion. “Online retailers must ensure that consumers shopping their sites for the best deals are at the same time protected from fraud in the most seamless and friction-right way possible.”

The study also revealed the suspected digital fraud rate for each day in the holiday shopping period for transactions where the consumer was in Namibia during the transaction, and globally. Unlike last year when Black Friday (25 November 2022) saw the highest suspected digital fraud rate of 4.7%, this rate was the highest on Thursday 23 November, at 5.6%.

The Suspected Digital Fraud Rate Varies for Each Day of the 2023 Holiday Shopping Weekend

As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top indicators of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally. This year, transactions per IP (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single Internet Protocol (IP) address to a customer’s site in a short time) and transactions per device (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single device to a customer’s site in a short time) were the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.

“The upcoming holidays mark the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers, but equipping themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign is a year-round priority,” said Lara Burger, country manager at TransUnion Namibia “A critical way to minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate ones involves implementing holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction, including both account creation and login.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions primarily based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite, TransUnion TruValidate™, which helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences. The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflect interactions which TransUnion customers either denied in real time due to fraudulent indicators or determined to be fraudulent after a manual review process—compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

To find out how this data varies by select countries and more, TransUnion’s holiday fraud insights can be found here.

Consumers interested in obtaining their TransUnion credit report, credit score, and accessing additional credit planning tools can click here.

^[1] For Hong Kong, all holiday analysis also includes Nov. 11

Globally, the analysis found 3.6% of all e-commerce transactions over the Black Friday period (23 – 27 November 2023) were suspected to be fraudulent. TransUnion also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that period globally was 15% higher than the same period in 2022, yet 50% lower than during the rest of 2023. ^[1]

The Percentage of Suspected E-Commerce Fraud at the Beginning of the Festive Shopping Season, Compared to the Rest of the Year

* ^{Includes Nov. 11 for Hong Kong}

“Just as the holiday season drives consumers online to begin shopping for gifts for their loved ones, so does it become a destination for fraudsters seeking to take advantage of this time for their financial gain,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion. “Online retailers must ensure that consumers shopping their sites for the best deals are at the same time protected from fraud in the most seamless and friction-right way possible.”

The study also revealed the suspected digital fraud rate for each day in the holiday shopping period for transactions where the consumer was in Kenya during the transaction and globally. Unlike last year when Black Friday (25 November 2022) saw the highest suspected digital fraud rate, this rate was the highest on Cyber Monday, 27 November.

The Suspected Digital Fraud Rate Varies for Each Day of the 2023 Holiday Shopping Weekend

As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top indicators of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally. This year, transactions per IP (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single Internet Protocol (IP) address to a customer’s site in a short time) and transactions per device (triggered with an unusual volume of activity from a single device to a customer’s site in a short time) were the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.

“Anecdotally, we hear that payment card issuers tend to use a different model during holiday shopping periods to allow more authorisations to complete quickly,” said Morris Maina, CEO at TransUnion Kenya.  “It seems that a similar tactic is being used by retailers concerned that any friction may drive consumers away, reflecting the elevated competition and aggressiveness of retailers to ensure greater shopping volume.”

 Criminals exploit the lowered drawbridge

Criminal organisations look forward to this period of lax fraud controls. Knowing that guards are lowered, they commit account takeovers to empty loyalty points programs and make purchases using the hijacked customer’s existing payment wallet, for example. For retailers that allow guest checkouts, fraudsters will transact using stolen payment cards they’ve purchased from the dark web or have previously harvested from other data breach attacks.

While online sales numbers for retailers are now known, retailers will have to wait and hope that fraud losses do not pile up. The challenge is that they won’t know for some time; merchants will have to wait for an uptick in chargebacks, returns, and customer disputes before that becomes clear.

“The upcoming holidays mark the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers, but equipping themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign is a year-round priority,” said Maina. “A critical way to minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate ones involves implementing holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction, including both account creation and login.”

TransUnion came to its conclusions primarily based on intelligence from its identity and fraud product suite, TransUnion TruValidate™, which helps secure trust across channels and delivers efficient consumer experiences. The rate or percentage of suspected digital fraud attempts reflect interactions which TransUnion customers either denied in real time due to fraudulent indicators or determined to be fraudulent after a manual review process—compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

To find out how this data varies by select countries and more, TransUnion’s holiday fraud insights can be found here.

Consumers interested in obtaining their TransUnion credit report can download the TransUnion Nipashe app.

^[1] For Hong Kong, all holiday analysis also includes Nov. 11

‘Smishing’ – where fraudulent text messages attempt to trick people into revealing data – was experienced by 28% of Namibians who were targeted, while 24% were targeted by ‘vishing’, where fraudulent callers tried to get them to reveal personal information.

At the same time, the top types of digital fraud which Namibian consumers were most worried about differed from the attempts reported, as the biggest Namibian consumer concerns were account takeovers (69%), identity theft (65%) and stolen credit cards or fraudulent card transactions (64%).

Data in the 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report blends proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network and a specially commissioned TransUnion consumer survey in 18 countries and regions globally.

The study showed that globally, 4.6% of all digital transactions were suspected to be fraudulent. This percentage is in line with the rates found in 2019. However, despite the similarities to the percentage prior to the pandemic, due to the marked rise in number of digital transactions in the last few years, the total volume of all suspected digital fraud attempts has increased dramatically. Globally, such attempts have increased by 80% from 2019 to 2022.

Lara Burger, country manager of TransUnion Namibia, said: “We’re seeing a persistently high number of digital fraud attempts, with the total volume of suspected digital fraud attempts originating from Namibia increasing most notably in the gaming sector, where the rate of attempts has increased by 179% since 2019. This reflects the overall accelerated adoption of digital technologies and rising online transactions as a result.

“Namibian businesses need to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their customers. This means ensuring that identity proofing and authentication is up-to-date and as robust as possible,” she said. 

Of Namibian consumers surveyed, 66% said they had been targeted by an email, online, phone call or text message fraud scheme and 13% of those fell victim. Nearly half (47%) said that they had placed a freeze on their credit when they realised that they were a victim of fraud, while 30% contacted the affected company, whether it was a bank or retailer.

Burger continued: “Rates of digital fraud attempts by sector tend to change rapidly, as fraudsters innovatively shift focus to where there are new opportunities to make financial gain. They will be agile in targeting consumers and organisations as Namibia navigates the current period of global economic uncertainty.

“At TransUnion, we help businesses across a wide range of industries prevent fraud by using intelligent predictive solutions to deliver better experiences – helping to outflank those who would take advantage otherwise and reassure customers that their personal data will not be compromised.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gambling, gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite –TruValidate.

For more information and insights about our global fraud trends, please download the report here.

Additionally, 29% of Rwandans had experienced phishing attempts – fraudulent emails, websites of social posts intent on stealing data – while 26% experienced smishing in which fraudulent text messages attempted to trick them into revealing personal data. A little more than one-fifth (22%) of Rwandans experienced vishing attempts – fraudulent phone calls where fraudsters tried to get them to reveal personal information. 

During the same time, the top types of digital fraud which Rwandan consumers were most worried about differed slightly from the attempts reported. Third-party seller scams led Rwandan consumers’ concerns about digital fraud (42%) followed by account takeover (38%), stolen credit card or fraudulent charges (37%), identity theft (36%), money mule scams (35%), and phishing (34%).

Data in the 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report blends proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network and a specially commissioned TransUnion consumer survey in 18 countries and regions globally.

The study showed that globally, 4.6% of all digital transactions were suspected to be fraudulent. This percentage is in line with the rates found in 2019. However, despite the similarities to the percentage prior to the pandemic, due to the marked rise in number of digital transactions in the last few years, the total volume of all suspected digital fraud attempts has increased dramatically. Globally, such attempts have increased by 80% from 2019 to 2022.

Samuel Tayengwa, acting chief executive officer TransUnion Rwanda, said: “The explosion of digital transactions, the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, and increasing appetites for faster access to funds and credit, have led to an increase in fraud losses, particularly in digital channels,” said Tayengwa. “Consumers are expecting organisations to protect their identities and online accounts, and those companies that do not adequately honour those preferences may lose business as a result.

“Rwandan businesses need to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their customers. This means ensuring that identity proofing and authentication is up-to-date and as robust as possible.” 

While 7% of Rwandan consumers said that they were targeted by and have become a victim of an email, online, phone call or text messaging fraud scheme between September and December 2022, 56% said they had been targeted but did not fall victim. Of those Rwandans that discovered that they were victims of fraud, 23% contacted the police and the affected credit card provider or retailer, and 19% placed a freeze on their credit.

Tayengwa continued: “Rates of digital fraud attempts by sector tend to change rapidly, as fraudsters innovatively shift focus to where there are new opportunities to make financial gain. They will be agile in targeting consumers and organisations as Rwanda navigates this current period of global economic uncertainty.

“At TransUnion, we help businesses across a wide range of industries prevent fraud by using intelligent predictive solutions to deliver better experiences – helping to outflank those who would take advantage otherwise and reassure customers that their personal data will not be compromised.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite –TruValidate.

For more information and insights about our global fraud trends, please download the report here.

Vishing has become more prevalent than ‘smishing’ – where fraudulent text messages attempt to trick people into revealing data – with 41% of targeted Kenyans having experienced this type of attempt. ‘Phishing’, where fraudulent emails, websites, and social posts intent on stealing data, was experienced by 36% of surveyed Kenyans.

At the same time, the top types of digital fraud which Kenyan consumers were most worried about differed from the attempts reported, as the biggest Kenyan consumer concerns were phishing (59%), account takeovers and identity theft (both 58%) and third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail websites (57%).

Data in the 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report blends proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network and a specially commissioned TransUnion consumer survey in 18 countries and regions globally.

The study showed that globally, 4.6% of all digital transactions were suspected to be fraudulent. This percentage is in line with the rates found in 2019. However, despite the similarities to the percentage prior to the pandemic, due to the marked rise in number of digital transactions in the last few years, the total volume of all suspected digital fraud attempts has increased dramatically. Globally, such attempts have increased by 80% from 2019 to 2022.

Morris Maina, chief executive officer, TransUnion Kenya, said: “We’re seeing a persistently high number of digital fraud attempts, with suspected digital fraud attempts originating from Kenya increasing most notably in the financial services sector, where the rate of attempts has increased by 309% since 2019. This reflects the overall accelerated adoption of digital technologies and rising online transactions as a result.

“Kenyan businesses need to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their customers. This means ensuring that identity proofing and authentication is up-to-date and as robust as possible.” 

Cyber criminals turn their attention to new industries 

Other Kenyan industries that have seen a rise in digital fraud attempts in comparison to 2021 include gaming, where the rate of attempts emanating from Kenya have increased by 102%, and travel and leisure by 37%.^[i]

At the same time, some industries, such as video gaming, retail, and telecommunications, saw a significant drop year-on-year, indicating that cyber criminals have turned their attention elsewhere. This may be testament to the increasing levels of control that providers are putting in place to help stop fraud and raise awareness of scams, although many people still fall victim to these schemes.

Maina continued: “Rates of digital fraud attempts by sector tend to change rapidly, as fraudsters innovatively shift focus to where there are new opportunities to make financial gain. They will be agile in targeting consumers and organisations as Kenya navigates this recent period of economic uncertainty.

“At TransUnion, we help businesses across a wide range of industries prevent fraud by using intelligent predictive solutions to deliver better experiences – helping to outflank those who would take advantage otherwise and reassure customers that their personal data will not be compromised.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite –TruValidate.

For more information and insights about our global fraud trends, please download the report here.

^[i] Changes reflect comparisons between data collected between Jan 1 and Dec 31 2022 – the latest full year dataset – and the same period in 2021.

Additionally, 36% of targeted Zambians experienced attempts to lure them into money mule scams, where they were solicited to transfer or move illegally acquired money on behalf of someone else.

During the same time, 35% of targeted Zambians experienced ‘phishing’ attempts, where fraudulent emails, websites or social posts attempted to steal their data, while 31% experienced ‘vishing attempts, where fraudulent callers tried to get them to reveal personal information.

However, the top types of digital fraud which Zambian consumers were most worried about differed from the attempts reported. Two-thirds of Zambians (67%) were concerned that their accounts would be taken over and used without their permission, 64% feared identity theft, and 63% were worried about third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail sites.

Data in the 2023 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report blends proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network and a specially commissioned TransUnion consumer survey in 18 countries and regions globally.

The study showed that globally, 4.6% of all digital transactions were suspected to be fraudulent. This percentage is in line with the rates found in 2019. However, despite the similarities to the percentage prior to the pandemic, due to the marked rise in number of digital transactions in the last few years, the total volume of all suspected digital fraud attempts has increased dramatically. Globally, such attempts have increased by 80% from 2019 to 2022.

Mildred Stephenson, chief executive officer at TransUnion Zambia, said: “The explosion of digital transactions, the accelerated adoption of digital technologies, and increasing appetites for faster access to funds and credit, have led to an increase in fraud losses, particularly in digital channels. Consumers are expecting organisations to protect their identities and online accounts, and those companies that do not adequately honour those preferences may lose business as a result.”

“Zambian businesses need to take proactive steps to protect themselves and their customers. This means ensuring that identity proofing and authentication is up-to-date and as robust as possible.” 

Of Zambian consumers surveyed, 75% said they had been targeted by an email, online, phone call or text message fraud scheme and 12% of those fell victim. Nearly one-third (32%) of the Zambians that had discovered that they were victims of fraud placed a freeze on their credit accounts, while 26% called the police.  

Stephenson continued: “Rates of digital fraud attempts by sector tend to change rapidly, as fraudsters innovatively shift focus to where there are new opportunities to make financial gain. They will be agile in targeting consumers and organisations as Zambia navigates this current period of global economic uncertainty.

“At TransUnion, we help businesses across a wide range of industries prevent fraud by using intelligent predictive solutions to deliver better experiences – helping to outflank those who would take advantage otherwise and reassure customers that their personal data will not be compromised.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite –TruValidate.

For more information and insights about our global fraud trends, please download the report here.

These findings are based on intelligence from billions of transactions contained in TransUnion’s TruValidate™ fraud analytics solution suite. The analysis also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 82% higher than during the rest of the year (Jan. 1, 2022 to Nov. 23, 2022). For transactions originating in Namibia, the percentage was 23% lower than during the rest of the year but was 54% higher than the same period in 2021.

“Fraudulent activity tends to be particularly prevalent in online retail during the holiday shopping season,” said Shai Cohen, senior vice president and head of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “Despite the fact that consumers have begun returning in larger numbers to in-person shopping in the post-pandemic era, online retail continues to be the preferred means of holiday shopping for many. It’s important that online retailers ensure consumer security and privacy protections, which is important to consumers, but in a way which ensures a seamless shopping experience that minimises unnecessary friction.”

Top e-commerce fraud types revealed

TransUnion also revealed in the analysis the top types of fraudulent e-commerce transactions globally. This year, promotion abuse (user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, free giveaways, etc.) and account takeover (someone other than the owner of an account uses it without permission, indicating that the account has been maliciously compromised) were the top types of digital fraud in retail.

“Online retailers must equip themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign, and without inhibiting the consumer journey,” said Lara Burger, general manager TransUnion Namibia. “It’s more important than ever that these online retailers implement holistic fraud solutions that are able to verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction without resulting in false positives that may cost them legitimate transactions.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gambling, gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity insights, digital insights, omnichannel authentication, and fraud analytics solution suite – TruValidate™.

To find out how this data varies by select countries, download TransUnion's holiday fraud trends infographic 
 

 ^[1] The percent of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

These findings are based on intelligence from billions of transactions contained in TransUnion’s TruValidate™ fraud analytics solution suite. The analysis also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 82% higher than during the rest of the year (Jan. 1, 2022 to Nov. 23, 2022). For transactions originating in Kenya, this percentage was 15% lower than during the rest of the year and was 42% higher than the same period in 2021.

The study also revealed the share of suspected digital fraud attempts for each individual day in the holiday shopping period for transactions in Keyna and globally. 

Breakdown of Risky Transactions During Holiday Period

“Fraudulent activity tends to be particularly prevalent in online retail during the holiday shopping season,” said Shai Cohen, senior vice president and head of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “Despite the fact that consumers have begun returning in larger numbers to in-person shopping in the post-pandemic era, online retail continues to be the preferred means of holiday shopping for many. It’s important that online retailers ensure consumer security and privacy protections, which is important to consumers, but in a way which ensures a seamless shopping experience that minimises unnecessary friction.”

TransUnion also revealed in the analysis the top types of fraudulent e-commerce transactions globally. This year, promotion abuse (user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, free giveaways, etc.) and account takeover (someone other than the owner of an account uses it without permission, indicating that the account has been maliciously compromised) were the top types of digital fraud in retail.

“Online retailers must equip themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign, and without inhibiting the consumer journey,” said Morris Maina, chief executive officer TransUnion Kenya. “It’s more important than ever that these online retailers implement holistic fraud solutions that are able to verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction without resulting in false positives that may cost them legitimate transactions.”

Consumers express more concern this holiday season

The increase of suspected digital fraud during the traditional busiest days of the holiday shopping season occurred as consumers express concern about being victimized. TransUnion’s 2022 Consumer Holiday Shopping Survey found that 63% of Kenyan consumers are concerned with being victimised by online fraud this holiday season.

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gambling, gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity insights, digital insights, omnichannel authentication, and fraud analytics solution suite – TruValidate™.

To find out how this data varies by select countries, download TransUnion's holiday fraud trends infographic 
 

 [1] The percent of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

These findings are based on intelligence from billions of transactions contained in TransUnion’s TruValidate™ fraud analytics solution suite. The analysis also determined that the average number of suspected digital fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 82% higher than during the rest of the year (January 1, 2022 to November 23, 2022). For transactions originating in Zambia, this percentage was 30% lower than during the rest of the year, but 104% higher than the same period in 2021.

The study also revealed the share of suspected digital fraud attempts for each individual day in the holiday shopping period for transactions in Zambia and globally. 

Breakdown of Risky Transactions During Holiday Period

“Fraudulent activity tends to be particularly prevalent in online retail during the holiday shopping season,” said Shai Cohen, senior vice president and head of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “Despite the fact that consumers have begun returning in larger numbers to in-person shopping in the post-pandemic era, online retail continues to be the preferred means of holiday shopping for many. It’s important that online retailers ensure consumer security and privacy protections, which is important to consumers, but in a way which ensures a seamless shopping experience that minimises unnecessary friction.”

TransUnion also revealed in the analysis the top types of fraudulent e-commerce transactions globally. This year, promotion abuse (user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, free giveaways, etc.) and account takeover (someone other than the owner of an account uses it without permission, indicating that the account has been maliciously compromised) were the top types of digital fraud in retail.

“Online retailers must equip themselves with the proper tools to detect fraud at the first warning sign, and without inhibiting the consumer journey,” said Mildred Stephenson, chief executive officer TransUnion Zambia. “It’s more important than ever that these online retailers implement holistic fraud solutions that are able to verify customer identity and authenticity at the very beginning of a transaction without resulting in false positives that may cost them legitimate transactions.”

TransUnion monitors digital fraud attempts reported by businesses in varied industries such as gambling, gaming, financial services, healthcare, insurance, retail, and travel and leisure, among others. The conclusions are based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in TransUnion’s flagship identity insights, digital insights, omnichannel authentication, and fraud analytics solution suite – TruValidate™.

To find out how this data varies by select countries, download TransUnion's holiday fraud trends infographic.

 ^[1] The percent of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions it assessed for fraud.

 TransUnion’s data on fraud against businesses is based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite – TransUnion TruValidate™.

 The global insurance industry saw a year-on-year (YoY) suspected digital fraud attempt rate increase of 159% in Q2 2022, while the global logistics sector increased by 13%. In contrast, TransUnion observed a -20% decrease in the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts in insurance worldwide for transactions originating from Kenya. The most common type of fraud reported to TransUnion by its insurance customers in Q2 2022 was first-party application fraud, which involves fraudulent applications containing intentionally inaccurate information with the intention of receiving certification, lower rates or better terms for a policy/contract.

 “We have observed interesting trends in the first half of 2022 with suspected fraudulent activity in the insurance industry continuing to be elevated,” said Shai Cohen, senior vice president of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “In recent years, we’ve seen fraudsters shift their industry focus each quarter. At this time, we believe the insurance industry is seeing more ‘soft fraud’ because some consumers may be representing their policies incorrectly in an effort to save money, especially in a high inflation environment that places more pressure on their wallets.”

Year-on-Year Growth Rates of Digital Fraud Attempts (from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022)

Shifts in Kenya Run Counter To Global Trends

 In Kenya, the rate of suspected digital fraud across all industries decreased 27% YoY in Q2 2022. TransUnion observed the largest declines from Kenya-based transactions in communities (which include online forums and dating) (-70%), telecommunications (-42%) and insurance (-20%).

 The industry that saw the biggest increase in the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts coming from Kenya was logistics, which increased 61% during that period. The most common fraud reported to TransUnion by its logistics customers in Q2 2022 was shipping fraud, where buyers spoof shipping addresses, or a seller receives payment for goods or services, but never ships the goods to the buyer. Other industries with increases coming from Kenya were gambling (36%) and retail (23%).

 “The focus across industry has been on identifying more of the good transactions and customers to allow them to pass with less friction,” said Amritha Reddy, Head of Fraud at TransUnion Africa. “Strong fraud and authentication practices decrease false positives and focus fraud-fighting resources on the minority of interactions that warrant scrutiny. By reducing the pool of manual reviews and customer interrogations, organizations can dramatically reduce costs, increase revenue, and improve the overall customer experience.”

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, please download the infographic.

 TransUnion’s data on fraud against businesses is based on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite – TransUnion TruValidate™.

 The global insurance industry saw a YoY suspected digital fraud attempt rate increase of 159% in Q2 2022, while the global logistics sector increased by 13%. For transactions originating from Namibia, the industry that saw the biggest increase in the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts was financial services, which saw a massive increase of 229% YoY. The other industry to see a big increase in the rate of suspected digital fraud coming from Namibia was gambling, which increased by 179% YoY.

 “We have observed interesting trends in the first half of 2022 with suspected fraudulent activity in the insurance industry continuing to be elevated,” said Shai Cohen, senior vice president of global fraud solutions at TransUnion. “In recent years, we’ve seen fraudsters shift their industry focus each quarter. At this time, we believe the insurance industry is seeing more ‘soft fraud’ because some consumers may be representing their policies incorrectly in an effort to save money, especially in a high inflation environment that places more pressure on their wallets.”

Year-on-Year Growth Rates of Digital Fraud Attempts (from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022)

 Globally, industries seeing the largest declines in the rate of suspected digital fraudulent activity from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022 included gaming (-63%), travel and leisure (-28%), and retail (-28%). TransUnion observed the largest declines from Namibia-based transactions in travel and leisure (-39%), retail (-9%) and communities, which includes online forums and dating sites, at -9%.

 “The focus across industry has been on identifying more of the good transactions and customers to allow them to pass with less friction,” said Amritha Reddy, Head of Fraud at TransUnion Africa. “Strong fraud and authentication practices decrease false positives and focus fraud-fighting resources on the minority of interactions that warrant scrutiny. By reducing the pool of manual reviews and customer interrogations, organizations can dramatically reduce costs, increase revenue, and improve the overall customer experience.”

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, please download the infographic.

The rate of digital fraud originating from Namibia decreased in Q1 2022, with suspected online fraud attempts declining -7.0% from the same quarter last year, in line with the global decrease of -22.6% during that same time period. TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) quarterly digital fraud analysis observed that while the overall rate of suspected digital fraud declined in Namibia, there were significant shifts year-over-year (YoY) within certain industries.

Sectors such as telecommunications, travel and leisure, and retail saw YoY decreases in the suspected attempted digital fraud rate from Namibia. Conversely, fraudsters in Namibia increased their suspected scams in sectors such as gambling and financial services.

“What we observed in Namibia and globally is that sophisticated fraudsters are shifting their focus to target new industries as sectors previously targeted have ramped up fraud prevention measures. In other words, fraudsters are constantly seeking out new opportunities based on vulnerabilities,” said Amritha Reddy, Head of Fraud at TransUnion South Africa.

“What’s critical is that companies don’t become complacent with fraud prevention measures as fraudsters become ever more sophisticated. At the same time, companies should leverage this temporary shift in fraudulent activity to focus on optimising customer experience without compromising security.”

Rate of Digital Fraud Attempts Decrease in Namibia, but Some Industries See Growth

The telecommunications industry saw the largest YoY decrease in the suspected fraud attempt rate for digital transactions coming from Namibia, at -39.1%. When digital fraud in telecommunications did occur, TransUnion found the most dominant type in that industry globally was  identity theft. This occurs where a customer uses a stolen identity to commit fraud, and the victim who is the identity owner is a real person.

Fraudsters have cycled through certain industries during the pandemic and are now rotating to other vulnerable sectors. This makes these vulnerable sectors more prone to digital fraud attempts.  The gambling industry exhibited the greatest YoY growth in the rate of suspected digital fraud coming from Namibia in Q1 2022 at 109.1%, with the most prevalent type of fraud in that sector globally being promotion abuse – where a user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, reload deposit bonuses and free giveaways.

The financial services industry experienced the second highest YoY increase in Namibia at 27.5%, where first party application fraud was the most common type of fraud. This occurs  when an individual intentionally completes fraudulent applications that contain inaccurate or manipulated information with the intention of receiving a lower rate or better terms for a policy or contract.

Year-over-year Growth Rates of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts (Q1 2021 to Q1 2022)

“As digital fraud rates stabilise in Namibia during a period when fraudsters are searching for new vulnerabilities, it’s important that organizations shift their focus to identifying more of the ‘good’ customers and transactions to drive revenue and customer lifetime value. By reducing false positives, false declines and manual review rates, organizations can improve their customer experience through trusted connections while still keeping the fraudsters at bay,” said Reddy.

TransUnion derived its conclusions on fraud against businesses  on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite – TransUnion TruValidate™. The percent or rate of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions that were assessed for fraud.

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, download this infographic.

The rate of digital fraud originating from Kenya decreased in Q1 2022, with the percentage of suspected online fraud attempts declining -60.9% from the same quarter last year, in line with the global decrease of -22.6% during that same time period. TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) quarterly digital fraud analysis observed that while the overall rate of suspected digital fraud declined in Kenya, there were significant shifts year-over-year (YoY) within certain industries.

Sectors such as financial services, telecommunications and communities (i.e. online dating) all saw YoY decreases in the attempted digital fraud rate from Kenya. Conversely, fraudsters in Kenya increased their suspected scams in sectors such as gambling, and travel and leisure.

“What we observed in Kenya and globally is that sophisticated fraudsters are shifting their focus to target new industries as sectors previously targeted have ramped up fraud prevention measures. In other words, fraudsters are constantly seeking out new opportunities based on vulnerabilities,” said Amritha Reddy, Head of Fraud at TransUnion South Africa.

“What’s critical is that companies don’t become complacent with fraud prevention measures as fraudsters become ever more sophisticated. At the same time, companies should leverage this temporary shift in fraudulent activity to focus on optimising customer experience without compromising security.”

Rate of Digital Fraud Attempts Decrease in Kenya, but Some Industries See Growth

The financial services industry saw the largest YoY decrease in the suspected fraud attempt rate for digital transactions coming from Kenya, at -71.5%. When digital fraud in financial services did occur, TransUnion found the most dominant type in that industry globally was first party application fraud. That’s when an individual completes fraudulent applications that contain intentionally inaccurate or manipulated information with the intention of receiving a lower rate or better terms for a policy or contract.

Fraudsters have cycled through certain industries during the pandemic and are now rotating to other vulnerable sectors. This makes these vulnerable sectors more prone to digital fraud attempts. The gambling industry exhibited the greatest YoY growth in the rate of suspected digital fraud coming in Kenya in Q1 2022, at 48.7%, with the most prevalent type of fraud in that sector globally being promotion abuse – where a user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, reload deposit bonuses and free giveaways.

The travel and leisure industry experienced the second highest YoY increase from Kenya, at 25.1%, where fraudsters look to take advantage as the sector opens up and Kenyans start travelling again.

Year-over-year Growth Rates of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts (Q1 2021 to Q1 2022)

“As digital fraud rates stabilise in Kenya during a period when fraudsters are searching for new vulnerabilities, it’s important that organizations shift their focus to identifying more of the ‘good’ customers and transactions to drive revenue and customer lifetime value. By reducing false positives, false declines and manual review rates, organizations can improve their customer experience through trusted connections while still keeping the fraudsters at bay,” said Reddy.  

TransUnion derived  to its conclusions  on fraud against businesses on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite – TransUnion TruValidate™. The percent or rate of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions that were assessed for fraud.

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, download this infographic.

The rate of digital fraud originating from Zambia decreased in Q1 2022, with suspected online fraud attempts declining -13.4% from the same quarter last year, in line with the global decrease of -22.6% during that same time period. TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) quarterly digital fraud analysis observed that while the overall rate of suspected digital fraud declined in Zambia, there were significant shifts year-over-year (YoY)  within certain industries.

Sectors such as financial services and retail saw YoY decreases in the suspected attempted digital fraud rate from Zambia. Conversely, fraudsters in Zambia increased their suspected scams in sectors such as communities (i.e. online dating), gambling, and travel and leisure.

“What we observed in Zambia and globally is that sophisticated fraudsters are shifting their focus to target new industries as sectors previously targeted have ramped up fraud prevention measures. In other words, fraudsters are constantly seeking out new opportunities based on vulnerabilities,” said Amritha Reddy, Head of Fraud at TransUnion South Africa.

“What’s critical is that companies don’t become complacent with fraud prevention measures as fraudsters become ever more sophisticated. At the same time, companies should leverage this temporary shift in fraudulent activity to focus on optimising customer experience without compromising security.”

Rate of Digital Fraud Attempts Decrease in Zambia, but Some Industries See Growth

The financial services industry saw the largest YoY decrease in the suspected fraud attempt rate for digital transactions coming from Zambia, at -51.0%. When digital fraud in financial services did occur, TransUnion found the most dominant type in that industry globally was first party application fraud. That’s when an individual completes fraudulent applications that contain intentionally inaccurate or manipulated information with the intention of receiving a lower rate or better terms for a policy or contract.

Fraud attempts, with fraudsters have cycled through certain industries during the pandemic and are now rotating to other vulnerable sectors. This makes these vulnerable sectors more prone to digital fraud attempts. The communities industry exhibited the greatest YoY growth in the rate of suspected digital fraud coming from Zambia in Q1 2022 at 114.5%, with the most prevalent type of fraud globally being profile misrepresentation, where users post inaccurate information in profile or use bogus profile photos.

Gambling showed the second highest increase in Zambia at 66.3%, with the most prevalent type of fraud globally being promotion abuse – where a user abuses site promotions such as refer-a-friend, reload deposit bonuses and free giveaways.

Year-over-year Growth Rates of Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts (Q1 2021 to Q1 2022)

“As digital fraud rates stabilise in Zambia during a period when fraudsters are searching for new vulnerabilities, it’s important that organizations shift their focus to identifying more of the ‘good’ customers and transactions to drive revenue and customer lifetime value. By reducing false positives, false declines and manual review rates, organizations can improve their customer experience through trusted connections while still keeping the fraudsters at bay,” said Reddy.  

TransUnion derived to its conclusions on fraud against businesses on intelligence from billions of transactions and more than 40,000 websites and apps contained in its flagship identity proofing, risk-based authentication and fraud analytics solution suite – TransUnion TruValidate™. The percent or rate of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions that were assessed for fraud.

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, download this infographic.