HK,
25
May
2022
|
12:00
Asia/Hong_Kong

Digital Fraud Attempt Rate from Hong Kong Decreased 26.5% in Q1 as Fraudsters Recognize More Businesses are Implementing Fraud Prevention Measures

The suspected digital fraud rate for transactions originating from Hong Kong decreased 26.5% in Q1 2022 compared to the same quarter last year, in line with the 22.6% decrease globally. TransUnion’s (NYSE:TRU) quarterly digital fraud analysis observed suspected digital fraudsters in Hong Kong also shifted their target industries. The suspected fraud rate year-over-year (YoY) originating in Hong Kong declined in industries such as logistics, financial services and communities while fraudsters significantly increased their scams in sectors such as retail, gambling and travel & leisure.

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™. The percent or rate of suspected digital fraud attempts are those that TruValidate customers either denied or reviewed due to fraudulent indicators compared to all transactions that were assessed for fraud.

“Sophisticated fraudsters pressure test which industries have ramped up fraud prevention measures and as a result, turn to new industries if efforts are being thwarted. That’s exactly what we have observed recently as fraudsters look for new opportunities or points of vulnerability,” said Jerry Ying, chief product officer of TransUnion APAC. “It is paramount that during this dip companies focus on optimizing the customer experience for good customers.”

Suspected Digital Fraud Attempt Rate from Hong Kong Shifts Industries

Industry

Q1 2021 to Q1 2022

2020 to 2021

Retail

+37.3%

-33.7%

Gambling

+12.5%

+20.8%

Travel and Leisure

+12.5%

+51.8%

Gaming

-3.4%

+21.0%

Telecommunications

-13.2%

N/A

Communities (online dating, forums, etc.)

-17.0%

+72.6%

Financial Services

-33.3%

+40.9%

Logistics

-47.4%

-8.8%

Source: TransUnion’s quarterly analysis of global online fraud trends
 

Counter to the data coming out of TransUnion’s network, consumers said they were targeted more with digital fraud from Nov. 2021 to Feb. 2022, according to the recent TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey. Among 1,088 Hong Kong adults surveyed from Feb. 14-23, 2022, 39% said they had been targeted by digital fraud in the last three months, up six percentage points from the previous quarter. Of those consumers who said they had been targeted, they reported phishing scams most (35%) followed by identity theft and money/gift card scams (27% respectively).

“Despite consumers indicating being increasingly targeted albeit over a different time period, suspected fraud rates appear to be stabilizing more recently with our customers. During this period when fraudsters are searching for new vulnerabilities, many organizations have shifted their focus to identifying more of the good customers and transactions to increase revenue and customer lifetime value. By reducing false positives, false declines, and manual review rates, organizations can dramatically improve the customer experience through trusted connections while still keeping the fraudsters at bay,” said Jerry Ying.

For worldwide and regional breakdowns around how much the suspected digital fraud attempt rate recently changed, what types of fraud are most prevalent in certain industries and more, download this infographic.