Given how e-commerce has grown exponentially since the COVID-19 pandemic, it wouldn’t be surprising to know that digital fraudsters are now also changing tactics to take advantage of people spending more time and money online.
According to TransUnion, a global information and insights firm, digital fraudsters have started shadowing consumer behavior as more and more businesses and consumers begin to rely on the Internet and other forms of electronic communications to conduct their transactions.
In the Philippines, advances in digital banking and mobile wallet services have enabled more Filipinos to formally participate in the financial system; however, illegal activities using the very same media have also started to increase.
Thanks to global efforts to educate the public in effectively mitigating this ever-rising tide of digital fraud risk, it seems that the attacks — at least those coming from the Philippines — have started to decline.
Digital fraud starting to decline, but Filipinos should still be wary
In its latest survey report conducted between April to June this year, TransUnion reveals that digital fraud originating from the Philippines has already decreased by 11% compared to the same period last year. It added that the decline in digital fraud in the country in the second quarter of this year follows the global trend.
It was further observed that digital fraud across gaming, financial services, communities, retail, as well as travel and leisure, has also gone down in the previous quarter.
“Despite the overall decrease in suspected digital fraud coming from the Philippines across different industries, suspected fraudsters have honed in on specific sectors,” TransUnion said in a statement.
Digital fraud in the logistics sector jumped by 236 percent in the second quarter of 2022 from a year ago. Cyber fraud in telecommunications went up by 45% while gambling registered an increase of 32 percent.
On the other hand, 11 percent of the survey respondents said they became victims of phishing, money scams, or third-party seller scams based on legitimate online retail sites.
The TransUnion survey also showed that 45% of its respondents reported that they were being targeted by online fraud schemes in the past three months but did not become a victim.
“With more Filipinos choosing to transact online, fraudsters will continue to capitalize on any opportunities to exploit both consumers and businesses,” said Pia Arellano, president and chief executive officer of TransUnion Philippines.
Arellano has issued a warning for organizations to remain proactive in averting threats and risks caused by present and emerging fraudulent activities.
“By instituting strong fraud and authentication practices, and streamlining processes to reduce manual reviews and customer interrogations, organizations can reduce costs and increase revenue while building greater trust with the Filipino public,” she concluded.