Digital Fraudsters Increase Attacks Against Multiple Industries During Pandemic; Use COVID-19 Scams to Target Younger Generat...
May 13 2020 - 9:00AM
TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) today released its quarterly analysis of
global online fraud trends, which found that the
telecommunications, e-commerce and financial services industries
have been increasingly impacted. From a consumer perspective,
TransUnion found Millennials have been most targeted by fraudsters
using COVID-19 scams.
This quarter TransUnion analyzed fraud trends to reflect the
changing economic environment with COVID-19. It used March 11, 2020
– the date the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the
coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic – as a base date for its
analysis.
Overall, TransUnion found the percent of suspected fraudulent
digital transactions rose 5% when comparing the periods Jan.
1-March 10 and March 11-April 28. TransUnion identified more than
100 million suspected fraudulent transactions from March 11-April
28.
“Given the billions of people globally that have been forced to
stay at home, industries have been disrupted in a way not seen on
this massive of a scale for generations,” said Shai Cohen, senior
vice president of Global Fraud & Identity Solutions at
TransUnion. “Now that many transactions have shifted online,
fraudsters have tried to take advantage and companies must adapt.
Businesses that come out on top will be those leveraging fraud
prevention tools that provide great detection rates and
friction-right experiences for consumers.”
Examining Fraud Types and Their Impact on
Industries
TransUnion analyzed the below industries for a change in the
percent of suspected fraud against them, comparing the periods of
Jan. 1-March 10 and March 11-April 28.
Suspected Fraud Post-Pandemic
Declaration
Industry |
Suspected fraud increase |
Top type of fraud |
Top country for suspected fraud origination |
Telecommunications |
76% |
Credit card |
Timor-Leste |
E-Commerce |
12% |
Promotion abuse |
Indonesia |
Financial Services |
11% |
Identity theft |
Syria |
Gambling |
-1% |
Promotion abuse |
Sri Lanka |
Public Sector |
-1% |
Account takeover |
Nigeria |
Insurance |
-3% |
Ghost broking |
Pakistan |
Logistics |
-7% |
Shipping |
Philippines |
Communities |
-11% |
Phishing |
Ivory Coast |
Travel & Leisure |
-38% |
Credit card |
Haiti |
Healthcare |
-40% |
Identity theft |
Finland |
Gaming |
-43% |
Gold farming |
Myanmar |
“Our data shows that as social distancing changes shopping
patterns, fraudsters have taken notice and targeted the more
digital forward industries while following the money,” said Melissa
Gaddis, senior director of customer success, Global Fraud &
Identity Solutions at TransUnion. “For instance, although we found
online gaming increased 64% as people stay home, it isn’t
immediately lucrative to target those companies since financial
information isn’t generally shared there. However,
telecommunications, e-commerce and financial services all have
large digital adoption, financial information and payments at the
center of their online experience, and fared relatively well
compared to other industries during the pandemic.”
Globally across industries, TransUnion found the countries with
the highest percent of suspected fraudulent transactions were: 1)
Yemen, 2) Syria and 3) Kazakhstan. In the U.S. overall, TransUnion
found the cities with the highest percent of suspected fraudulent
transactions were: 1) Springfield, Mass., 2) Akron, Ohio, and 3)
Louisville, Ky.
Consumers Targeted By COVID-19 SchemesTo better
understand the impacts of COVID-19 on consumers, TransUnion
surveyed 9,215 adults in the U.S., Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong,
India, South Africa and the U.K. during the week of April 13.
Nearly three out of 10 respondents (29%) said they had been
targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19, with Millennials
(those persons between the ages 26-40) being the most targeted at
34%.
Furthermore, TransUnion found that consumers who said their
household income is being negatively impacted by the COVID-19
pandemic are more likely to experience digital fraud with 32%
reporting being targeted by online COVID-19 scams, compared to 22%
of people not financially impacted.
“A common assumption is that fraudsters target older generations
who are perceived to be less digitally capable,” said Gaddis. “Our
data showed the opposite with younger generations, Millennials and
Gen Z (those born in or after 1995), being the most targeted.
Adding insult to injury, our survey found Millennials are being
financially challenged the most during the pandemic.”
MethodologyFor its transactional data,
TransUnion analyzed the billions of online transactions its
flagship fraud and identity solution, TransUnion IDVision® with
iovation®, assessed for fraud indicators for more than 40,000
websites and apps. It compared the percent of suspected fraudulent
transactions it saw from Jan. 1-March 10, 2020 to those from March
11-April 28, 2020.
For a hub of relevant educational resources aimed to help fight
fraud during this time, go to the TransUnion Global Fraud &
Identity Solutions COVID-19 resource center.
About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)TransUnion is a
global information and insights company that makes trust possible
in the modern economy. We do this by providing a comprehensive
picture of each person so they can be reliably and safely
represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and
consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We
call this Information for Good.®
TransUnion Global Fraud & Identity Solutions unite both
consumer and device identities to detect threats across markets
while ensuring friction-right user experiences. The solutions, all
part of the IDVision with iovation suite, fuse traditional
data science with machine learning to provide businesses unique
insights about consumer transactions, safeguarding tens of millions
of transactions each day.
A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five
continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic
opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for
hundreds of millions of people.
http://www.transunion.com/business
Media InquiriesAndrew GossTransUnionEmail:
Andrew.Goss@transunion.comPhone: 206.909.9212
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