Brazil has a digital fraud rate above the Latin American average, reveals TransUnion.

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

Despite the high rate, Brazil recorded a significant decline in the percentage of consumers who reported being targeted by fraud via email, online, phone call, or text messages – from 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 stated they were unable to identify if they had been victims of scam/fraud attempts, highlighting a concerning gap in fraud awareness.

“The high digital fraud rates in Brazil highlight a strategic challenge for companies and consumers. Monitoring indicators is not enough; it is crucial to understand the behavioral patterns underlying these crimes. The data reveals 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.

The vishing – scams conducted via phone, where fraudsters impersonate trustworthy individuals or companies to deceive victims and extract confidential information, such as banking details, passwords, and personal documents – remains the most reported type of fraud among Brazilians who said they were targeted (38%), but scams involving PIX emerge as a new trend, occupying second place with 28%.

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

However, despite companies' efforts, consumers remain exposed to fraudulent schemes, with 34% of surveyed Latin American respondents reporting having been targeted via email, online, phone calls, and text messages between February and May of this year. The vishing 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 stated they were targeted by fraud schemes via email, online, phone calls, or text messages between February and May 2025.

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

The new study also shows that consumer accounts continue to be the preferred target in scam threats, leading organizations to strengthen their security strategies and individuals to be more vigilant with their data, integrating a second authentication factor as a preventive practice.

The report found that account creation is the most concerning stage in the entire consumer journey globally. It is at this moment that fraudsters use stolen data to open accounts across various segments and commit all types of fraud. In the first half of this year alone, out of all global digital account creation transaction attempts, TransUnion found that 8.3% were suspicious, representing a 2.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Onboarding had the highest rate of transactions suspected of digital fraud in the consumer lifecycle across all analyzed segments in the first half of 2025, except for financial services, insurance, and government, for which the greatest point of concern is during financial transactions. For these industries, transactions such as purchases, withdrawals, and deposits had the highest rate of suspicious transactions.

Methodology

All data in this report combines proprietary insights from TransUnion's global intelligence network, a specially commissioned corporate survey in Canada, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and a consumer survey across 18 countries and regions worldwide. The corporate survey was conducted from May 29 to June 6, 2025. The consumer survey was conducted from May 5 to 25, 2025. The full study can be accessed via this link: Link