A recent report by TransUnion has revealed that Kenya had the second-highest number of individuals who fell victim to digital fraud between February and May 2025.
The report, 'H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report', indicates that 10 per cent of participants involved in the survey were targeted and fell victim to digital fraud, placing Kenya ahead of Zambia, Rwanda, Namibia, and Botswana, and only behind South Africa, where 13 per cent fell victim.
During this period, phishing, which involves a fraudster using a phone caller voice message to trick people into revealing their sensitive personal information, such as bank details, was the most reported fraud, with 46 per cent of the participants falling victim to it.
The other most prevalent frequently reported scams were money or gift card scams, phishing, and smishing, which are also designed to deceive individuals into giving up their valuable personal or financial information.
The report drew data from billions of digital transactions from over 40,000 websites and apps, as well as surveys across 18 countries.
Certain industries in the country appeared to be more susceptible to digital fraud than others, according to the report. Kenya’s gaming sector recorded the highest suspected fraud rate at 10.4 per cent during the examined period, followed by logistics (7.8 per cent) and government services (7.5 per cent).
Financial Services, Telecommunications, and Travel and Leisure sectors were the least targeted sectors by fraudsters during this period, according to the report.
"TransUnion’s survey found that 48 per cent of consumers surveyed globally reported being targeted by email, online, phone call, or text messaging fraud from February to May 2025, with 81 per cent of Kenyans saying the same thing," the report said.
"Kenya’s elevated rate reflects the broader global surge, as fraudsters increasingly exploit gaps in digital onboarding using AI-driven impersonation, social engineering, and stolen credentials," it added.
According to the Senior Director of Fraud Product Management at TransUnion Africa, Amritha Reddy, despite making significant strides in preventing digital fraud, especially in financial institutions, more needs to be done to protect other high-risk sectors, such as gaming, from such attacks.
“Despite high exposure, Kenya is advancing in fraud prevention as financial institutions are adopting AI-powered fraud detection, biometric verification, and consumer education initiatives,” said Senior Director of Fraud Product Management at TransUnion Africa, Amritha Reddy.
“A safer digital Kenya is achievable when trust becomes a shared responsibility. As scammers continue to evolve their tactics to enrich themselves, it’s more important than ever for consumers to regularly review their credit reports to ensure all listed information is accurate,” she added.
