Cybercrime on the rise as 80% of Kenyans targeted in first half of 2024 - report
By Alfred Onyango |
Suspected digital fraud attempts coming from the retail sector were the highest among the industries analysed.
As the cybersecurity landscape continues to witness unprecedented challenges, Kenya witnessed increased cyber threats in the six-month period to June this year, with more Kenyans getting targeted by online fraudsters.
The latest data from information and insights firm TransUnion reveals that 80 per cent of Kenyans were targeted by online fraudsters in the period under review.
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This is compared to the 73 per cent who reported being the target of fraud schemes as of June last year.
In the period under review, suspected digital fraud attempts coming from the retail sector were the highest among the industries analysed.
Gaming and communities (online dating, forums etc.) are also among the top targets, reporting the highest suspected digital fraud rate for transactions in the period under review.
According to the 'State of Omnichannel Fraud Report', the country is further ranked to have 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.
"Despite the good-faith efforts that are being made by global organisations to identify and prevent fraud to date, fraudsters continue to evolve," said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud solutions at TransUnion Africa.
"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."
Globally, the community industry experienced the largest percentage (11.5%) of suspected Digital Fraud during the period.
Profile misrepresentation
The community's 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.
On his part, TransUnion Kenya CEO Morris Maina said digital fraud waxes and wanes, but the trends in cybercrime and consumer scams are clear.
He thus notes that now and in the future, organisations face more sophisticated cybercriminals weaponising 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," Maina said.
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