One Year after COVID-19 Pandemic Declared, New TransUnion Research Shows Digital Fraud Attempts from Canada Have Increased
April 06 2021 - 6:00AM
TransUnion’s (NYSE: TRU) latest quarterly analysis of global online
fraud trends found that since the COVID-19 pandemic began,
fraudsters in Canada are increasing their digital schemes against
businesses. In addition, TransUnion’s recent Canada Consumer Pulse
Study found that 34% of Canadian consumers have recently been
targeted by digital fraud.
TransUnion came to its conclusions about fraud against
businesses 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™. It found the percent of
suspected fraudulent digital transaction attempts1 against
businesses originating from Canada increased 26% when comparing the
following two periods: Period #1 (March 11, 2019 and March 10,
2020); Period #2 (March 11, 2020 – when the World Health
Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic – and March 10,
2021). “Fraudsters are always looking to take advantage of
significant world events. The COVID-19 pandemic and its
corresponding rapid digital acceleration brought about by
stay-at-home orders is a global event unrivaled in the online age,”
said Anne-Marie Kelly, head of Market Development, Identity
Management and Fraud Solutions at TransUnion. “By analyzing
billions of transactions we assessed fraud indicators over the past
year, it has become clear that the war against the virus has also
brought about a war against digital fraud.” TransUnion found the
Canadian cities with the highest percent of suspected fraudulent
digital transactions were: 1) Longueuil, 2) Quebec City and 3)
Montreal.
Consumers Targeted by COVID-19
SchemesTransUnion’s Global Consumer Pulse Study also found
that the 34% of Canadian consumers who said they are being targeted
by digital fraud related to COVID-19 in the last three months is
higher than approximately one year ago. In April 2020, 28% said
they had been targeted by digital fraud related to COVID-19.Gen Z,
comprised of people born between 1995-2002, is currently the most
targeted out of any generation at 49% of those surveyed. They are
followed by Gen X, born 1965–1979, which have been targeted
34%.Among consumers in Canada who reported being targeted with
digital COVID-19 schemes, the top pandemic-themed scam is phishing
with 44% saying they were hit with it. Examining Fraud
Types and Their Impact on IndustriesGlobally, TransUnion
analyzed the below industries for a change in the percent of
suspected digital fraud attempts against them, comparing the
periods of March 11, 2019-March 10, 2020 and March 11, 2020-March
10, 2021.
Suspected Digital Fraud Attempt Rate
Post-Pandemic Declaration
Industry |
Suspected fraud change coming from Canada |
Global suspected fraud change for industry |
Top type of fraud globally |
Telecommunications |
997.49% |
57.52% |
Credit Card Fraud |
Financial Services |
159.63% |
57.49% |
Identity Theft |
Logistics |
64.21% |
4.87% |
Shipping Fraud |
Retail |
29.66% |
38.71% |
Promotion Abuse |
Gambling |
6.47% |
54.81% |
Policy/License Agreement Violations |
Communities (online dating, forums, etc.) |
-12.95% |
-11.10% |
Profile Misrepresentation |
Travel & Leisure |
-14.86 |
29.68% |
Credit Card Fraud |
Insurance |
-21.76 |
32.52% |
Ghost Broking |
Gaming |
-34.05 |
48.40% |
Gold Farming |
For more details about TransUnion’s recent global digital fraud
findings, visit this blog post.
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 provides solutions that
help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal
empowerment for hundreds of millions of people in more than 30
countries. Our customers in Canada comprise some of the nation’s
largest banks and card issuers, and TransUnion is a major credit
reporting, fraud, and analytics solutions provider across the
finance, retail, telecommunications, utilities, government and
insurance sectors.
_______________________
1 The percent or rate of suspected fraudulent digital
transaction attempts are those that TransUnion’s customers either
denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all
transactions it assessed for fraud
Contact:Fiona BangPhone
- 647-680-2885Email - fiona.bang@ketchum.com
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