November marked the fifth consecutive month in 2024 in which Brazil surpassed the milestone of 1 million prevented fraud attempts, totaling 1,020,304 cases—a frequency of one occurrence every 2.5 seconds and a 14.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023. The data comes from the Fraud Attempt Indicator from Serasa Experian, Brazil’s first and largest datatech company.
“Digital fraud poses a growing risk to consumers and businesses, and our goal is to strengthen security at every stage of the journey,” highlights Caio Rocha, Director of Authentication and Fraud Prevention at Serasa Experian. “The technologies we use to identify fraudulent patterns and prevent scams have been essential in enabling companies to detect attempts before they cause losses,” he adds.
More than half of fraud attempts are detected due to inconsistencies in registration data
In terms of the modality of attempts, over half (56%) of the occurrences were identified due to inconsistencies in registration data, which include discrepancies between information provided by users and records from reliable or official sources, such as CPF, address, date of birth, or financial history. Rocha explains that “these inconsistencies often indicate attempts to create fake identities, manipulate existing data, or fraudulently use third-party information.”
Additionally, fraudulent patterns related to document authenticity and biometric validation accounted for 36.7% of cases, while device verification contributed 7.3%, reinforcing the need for integrated solutions to combat different types of fraud.
Banks and Cards accounted for over 50% of fraud attempts
Of the total fraud attempts prevented in November, the “Banks and Cards” segment was the criminals’ preferred target (52.7%), while “Retail” had the lowest incidence (2.1%). Age-wise, citizens between 36 and 50 years old were the most targeted, representing 33.3% of cases.
State-level view: monthly decline across all Federal Units (UFs)
In November 2024, Serasa Experian’s Fraud Attempt Indicator revealed that all Federal Units (UFs) recorded fewer fraud attempts compared to the previous month. The largest decrease was in Santa Catarina (-4.1%). Still, volume-wise, the Southern and Southeastern states remained the most targeted by fraudsters.
Federal District: occurrence rate per million inhabitants above the national average
Despite the overall decline in fraud volume across all Federal Units (UFs), the rate of attempts per million inhabitants remains concerning, exceeding 4.7 thousand cases per million. The Federal District led the ranking with over 7 thousand occurrences per million inhabitants, followed by São Paulo, Mato Grosso, and five other states that also surpassed the national average.
“Combining fraud prevention solutions without impacting user experience, along with consumer awareness, is crucial to increasingly deter fraudsters and protect the digital identities of individuals and company operations,” emphasizes Rocha. According to the director, continued investment in technology and awareness is necessary to combat fraud.”
