New findings from the TransUnion H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report reveal that new account creation attempts in Kenya were the most likely globally to be flagged as suspected digital fraud in the first half of 2025 (H1 2025).
According to proprietary data from TransUnion’s global intelligence network, 4.4% of all new account attempts in Kenya were suspected of fraud. This elevated rate reflects a broader global surge in fraud, where sophisticated tactics like AI-driven impersonation and stolen credentials are exploited during digital onboarding. Globally, account creation remains the highest-risk stage, with 8.3% of such transactions suspected of fraud worldwide.
While new account fraud remains a major threat, existing accounts are also under intense attack:
- Global Account Takeover (ATO) attempts rose by a significant 21% year-over-year between H1 2024 and H1 2025.
- The increase since 2021 is even more dramatic, with ATO attempts up 141%, indicating a sustained shift in fraudster tactics towards compromising existing accounts.
“Account-takeover incidents rose 21% year-over-year in H1 2025; businesses should move from reactive to layered, proactive controls including identity intelligence and behavioural analytics to limit fraud losses,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management, TransUnion Africa.
Suspected fraud rates vary widely across Kenyan industries, with the gaming sector experiencing the highest exposure.
- The Gaming sector (including online betting and poker) recorded the highest suspected fraud rate at 10.4% across all industries.
- The volume of suspected fraud attempts in Gaming also saw a large increase of +49% year-over-year.
- Government services (7.5%) and Logistics (7.8%) also experienced elevated suspected fraud rates, highlighting broad digital vulnerability.
| Industry | Suspected Digital Fraud Attempt Rate (H1 2025) | Change in Volume (H1 2024 to H1 2025) |
| Gaming | 10.4% | +49% |
| Logistics | 7.8% | -35% |
| Government | 7.5% | +44% |
| Insurance | 4.8% | -39% |
| Retail | 3.2% | -96% |
| Financial Services | 2.2% | -56% |
A TransUnion consumer survey found that 81% of Kenyans reported being targeted by email, online, phone call, or text messaging fraud between February and May 2025, which is significantly higher than the global rate of 48%.
- Vishing (voice phishing) was the most common fraud type reported by targeted Kenyans (46%), followed by money/gift card scams (45%), phishing (41%), and smishing (39%).
- Overall, 10% of targeted Kenyans reported falling victim to a scam, the second-highest percentage among the six African countries surveyed.
“Despite high exposure, Kenya is advancing in fraud prevention as financial institutions are adopting AI-powered fraud detection, biometric verification and consumer education initiatives,” Reddy noted. “However, more has to be done to combat fraud attempts in video gaming, where protections should include identity, device and behavioural analytics.”