Brazil has digital fraud rate above the average in Latin America, reveals TransUnion

Brazil has reported a suspected digital fraud rate of 3.8%[1] in the first half of 2025, exceeding the rate of 2.8% of the Latin American countries analyzed.[2] According to the latest Digital Fraud Trends Report from TransUnion, a global information and insights company that acts as DataTech, the country is among the three markets in the region with above-average rates in Latin America, alongside the Dominican Republic (8.6%) and Nicaragua (2.9%).

Despite the high rate, Brazil recorded a significant drop in the percentage of consumers who said they had been the target of fraud by email, online, phone call or text messages 40% WHEN surveyed in the second half of 2024 to 27% when surveyed in the first half of 2025. However, 73% of Brazilian consumers in the first half of 2025 said they were unable to identify whether they were victims of scam/fraud attempts, highlighting a worrying gap in fraud awareness.

“High rates of digital fraud in Brazil highlight a strategic challenge for companies and consumers. It is not enough to monitor indicators; it is crucial to understand the behavior patterns that underpin these crimes.The data reveal that fraudsters evolve rapidly, exploiting new technologies and changes in digital habits.In this scenario, investing in preventive intelligence solutions and digital education programs becomes indispensable to reduce risks, protect the customer experience and preserve trust in online transactions”, explains Wallace Massola, Head of Fraud Prevention Solutions at TransUnion Brazil.

O vishing ^^the coup carried out by telephone, in which scammers impersonate trusted people or companies to deceive the victim and extract confidential information, such as bank details, passwords and personal documents 28% (IT) remains the most reported type of fraud among Brazilians who said they were targeted, but the scams involving PIX appear as a novelty, occupying the second position with 28%.

Although Brazil has a suspected rate of digital fraud above the regional average, the Latin American scenario shows positive signs. According to the report, the index of suspected attempts of digital fraud has fallen in almost all Latin American countries.

However, even with the efforts of companies, consumers remain exposed to fraudulent schemes, with 34% of Latin American respondents reporting having already been targeted by email, online, phone calls and text messages between February and May this year vishing it is the most reported attack vector in Latin American countries.

Impact on consumer relations

Nearly half, or 48% of global consumers surveyed by TransUnion worldwide, said they were targeted by email, online, phone calls or texting fraud schemes between February and May 2025.

While 1.8% of all suspected types of digital fraud reported to TransUnion globally in the first half of 2025 was related to scams and fraud, account hacking (or account takeover (OR ATO) had one of the fastest increases in volume (21%) during the first half of 2025 compared to the same period of 2024.

The new study also shows that consumer accounts remain the preferred target in scam threats, making organizations reinforce their security strategies and people more attentive to their data, integrating a second factor of authentication as a preventive practice.

The report found that account creation is the most worrying step in the entire consumer journey globally.It is at this time that scammers use stolen data to open accounts in various segments and commit all kinds of fraud.Only in the first half of this year, of all attempts at global transactions of creating digital accounts, TransUnion found that 8,3% were suspicious, representing an increase of 2,6% in relation to the same period last year. Onboarding had the highest transaction rate with suspected digital fraud in the consumer lifecycle in all analyzed in the first half of 2025, except in financial transactions for financial transactions, financial transactions to which are the highest points of transactions for financial transactions.

Methodology

All data in this report combines proprietary insights from TransUnion's global intelligence network, a corporate survey specially commissioned in Canada, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, the UK and the US, and a survey of consumer people in 18 countries and regions around the world. The corporate survey was conducted from May 29 to June 6, 2025. Already with consumer people, it was conducted from May 5 to 25, 2025. The full study can be checked at this link: Link