As consumers and businesses continue to use digital transactions as a way to engage in commerce, fraudsters are increasingly using them for their own benefit. A new TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) analysis finds that suspected global digital1 fraud is up in the first half (H1)2 of 2023, and while retail and video gaming* were among the most targeted industries worldwide during that timeframe, digital fraud affected all businesses.
Among all industries worldwide, the suspected digital fraud rate stood at 5.3%, up from 4.5% one year ago. Of all digital transactions made by consumers in Namibia, 1.4% were suspected to be fraudulent attempts in H1 2023.
For transactions originating from Namibia, financial services and retail had the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate among industries analyzed in H1 2023 at 3.9% and 3.5% respectively, with the rate in gaming (online sports betting, poker, etc.) third highest at 1.4%.2 Correlating with the higher fraud rates, the number of digital transactions from Namibia in financial services grew by 252% from H1 2022 to H1 2023 and by 23% in retail during that time period.
For transactions from Namibia, the travel and leisure sector saw the greatest year-over-year (YoY) rise from H1 2022 in the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts among industries analyzed, with an increase of 513%.
These significant increases in suspected digital fraud attempts, along with the increased adoption of digital transactions, indicate that Namibian businesses and consumers should seek meaningful solutions to prevent fraud.
“It’s not enough to look at fraud rates alone when attempting to measure the impact of digital fraud on any one particular industry or another,” said Lara Burger, country manager at TransUnion Namibia. “There are other factors that need to be considered. These include the overall size of the industry in question, whether that industry is growing and if so, how quickly. Only then is it possible to develop a more comprehensive perspective on just how digital fraud is impacting these industries. In addition, this can help identify where fraudsters may be focusing their efforts in future.”