SOME 8.3 percent of all digital transactions by consumers in the Philippines last year were suspected to be fraudulent, which is 66 percent higher than the global digital fraud rate of five percent, according to the latest study by TransUnion.
TransUnion’s 2024 State of Omnichannel Fraud Report saw the highest suspected digital fraud rate in retail at 11.8 percent. While the figure was down 18 percent from 2022, it was above the global suspected digital fraud rate of 8.7 percent for the sector.
Financial services, came second, at 10 percent and communities, which cover online dating and forums, the suspected digital fraud rate was at 5.2 percent.
Other findings of the study include a possible shift in tactics employed by fraudsters
attempting to engage with potential victims at an earlier stage in their consumer journey.
For digital transactions where the consumer was in the Philippines, 13.3 percent of transactions associated with account logins were suspected to be digital fraud in 2023. The second highest percentage of suspected digital fraud in the customer journey was account creation with 3.2 percent of those transactions suspected to be digital fraud.
The company said the occurrence of suspected digital fraud at the initial stages of account login and creation is significantly higher compared to the final financial transaction stage which had a rate of 1.2 percent. This stage usually involves activities such as purchases, withdrawals and deposits, which typically take place towards the end of a customer’s journey.
“While the global retail industry has consistently been among those with the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rates in recent years, we saw it placed at the top of the list both locally and globally in 2023. More concerning is the situation in the Philippines, where the suspected digital fraud rate across various industries exceeds global averages, except for telecommunications,” said Yogesh Daware, chief commercial officer at TransUnion Philippines, in a statement.
Daware said organizations must take proactive measures to enhance protection throughout the entire customer lifecycle, strengthening capabilities at every touchpoint to ensure comprehensive security for businesses and consumers. / KOC