Suspected Digital Fraud in Kenya Falls Below Global Rate in 2025

TransUnion research found that 2.3% of transaction attempts involving consumers in Kenya in 2025 were suspected of digital fraud, slightly below the global average of 3.8% but the second highest among the African countries analysed after South Africa. Despite the year-over-year (YoY) decline in suspected digital fraud from Kenya and globally, fraudsters continue to adapt, turning to high-trust, scam-based tactics that can bypass traditional safeguards.

 While overall suspected digital fraud rates remain comparatively low, the consumer impact remains meaningful. Among Kenyan consumers surveyed by TransUnion who reported losing money to digital fraud in the past year (defined in the survey as email, online, phone call and text message scams), the median reported loss was KES 108,132. This is the highest among African countries assessed.

 These are among the findings in the TransUnion H1 2026 Update: Top Fraud Trends report, which blends insights from a TransUnion consumer survey and its global intelligence network to track how fraud patterns are shifting across markets and digital channels.

 “Kenya is emerging as one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital economies and global experience shows that the markets that scale fastest are also the first to encounter sophisticated, identity-driven fraud at scale,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. “As mobile device usage, real-time payments and high frequency digital transactions continue to grow, fraudsters actively search for new opportunities.”

Third-Party Seller Scams Emerge as the Top Driver of Consumer-Reported Fraud Losses in Kenya 

Kenyan consumers are increasingly facing coordinated, identity-driven and cross-channel fraud, similar to patterns seen in mature digital economies, with fraud moving deeper into everyday digital interactions.

Among Kenyans who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, nearly four in ten (39%) said third-party seller scams on legitimate ecommerce sites were responsible for the loss. This indicates that losses are not occurring in obviously risky environments, but within credible, familiar and trusted platforms where fraudsters successfully embed themselves. 

As noted above, Kenyan consumers reported the highest median digital fraud loss among the African countries analysed, indicating that fraud in the region is no longer marginal. Rather, it is material and increasingly widespread. Unlike fringe scam activity, losses are now often linked to everyday digital interactions, where speed, familiarity and routine reduce opportunities to pause or verify. 

“Fraud tends to do the most damage in places where people already rely heavily on digital services, not just where those services are new,” Reddy said. “In Kenya, mitigating against fraud risks is now part of everyday digital activity.”

Chart 1: Most Prominent Cause of Consumer-Reported Fraud Loss in Kenya – 2025 

 Source: TransUnion consumer survey

 Digital Fraud Risk is Highest at Account Creation in Kenya

 Even when overall suspected fraud rates appear lower than 2024, risk can remain elevated at specific points in the digital consumer lifecycle, particularly where criminals attempt to create or manipulate identities. In 2025, the highest suspected digital fraud rate in the consumer lifecycle in Kenya occurred at account creation (4.5%), followed by account login (2.2%) and during financial transactions (0.9%).

“While onboarding controls remain important, fraud pressure in Kenya is increasingly visible at access points,” Reddy explained. “In mobile first markets, this shift happens faster and with greater financial impact. The next fraud battle won’t be fought at onboarding – it will be at re-entry.”

Kenyans Accept Some Friction If They’re Protected from Fraud

Findings from the TransUnion survey also show that Kenyan consumers ranked the most important features when choosing whom to transact with online as confidence that their personal data is secure (88% rated this as very important), an easy payment process (87%), and ease of login or authentication (79%).

“The fact that security is the top reported feature shows that consumers are willing to accept friction when completing digital transactions, provided it’s clearly linked to protection,” Reddy said. “As a result, security in Kenya is evolving beyond compliance and emerging as a key driver of brand trust and differentiation.”

 Online Gaming-Related Transactions Show the Highest Suspected Digital Fraud Risk Among Sectors Analysed

Across Africa, suspected digital fraud risk varies by industry, reflecting local user behaviours and where criminals see opportunity. For attempted transactions involving consumers in Kenya, online gaming-related transactions (online sports betting, poker, etc.) recorded the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate in 2025, at 15.6%.

 As more services converge around mobile identity, real‑time connectivity and platform‑based interactions, fraud increasingly appears wherever users are most active; not only where money changes hands.

“Online gaming platforms often act as early testing grounds for new fraud tactics,” said Reddy. “In Kenya’s connected digital economy, fraud doesn’t stay in silos. It moves wherever trust and engagement already exist.”

Chart 2: Suspected Digital Fraud Attempts from Kenya, by Sector

 Source: TransUnion global intelligence network

 What Consumers and Businesses Can Do

 As fraud tactics evolve, consumers can help reduce risk by safeguarding personal information, remaining cautious of unsolicited calls and messages and regularly reviewing their credit information for suspicious activity.

 For organisations, the data reinforces that fraud strategies must extend beyond compliance to actively protect trust across the entire consumer lifecycle-particularly at onboarding and account creation, where criminals attempt to exploit established relationships through scams and impersonation.

 Kenya has transitioned from reactive fraud controls to proactive intervention, particularly across mobile money, digital identity and cybercrime. The policy direction is clear: trust, accountability and system-wide collaboration are emerging as foundational pillars of the country’s digital economy defence.

 “Kenya offers a preview of what lies ahead for mobile-first economies globally,” Reddy concluded. “Protecting identity and trust is no longer optional as unmanaged fraud increasingly places digital success at risk.”

 TransUnion’s insights are based on a global survey of 12,730 consumers in 18 countries and regions, conducted between Nov. 20–Dec. 9, 2025, alongside intelligence from its suite of TransUnion fraud prevention solutions. To learn more about how TransUnion fraud prevention solutions can help businesses avoid fraud and prevent fraud losses, click here.

Specific country and regional data in the report includes Kenya, Botswana, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States and Zambia. Download the TransUnion H1 2026 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report for more information and insights about the global fraud trends.

 1 Suspected digital fraud attempts reflects those which TransUnion clients determined met one of the following conditions: 1) denial in real time due to fraudulent indicators, 2) denial in real time for corporate policy violations, 3) fraudulent upon client investigation, or 4) a corporate policy violation upon client investigation. The country and regional analyses examined transactions in which the consumer or suspected fraudster was located in a select country or region when conducting a transaction. Global statistics represent every country worldwide and not just the select countries and regions.

2 TransUnion surveyed 495 consumers in Kenya from Nov. 20 to Dec. 5, 2025.