Identity Fraud is a global menace, costing industry players over $50 billion annually. LatAm is at the forefront, bearing the highest percentage of revenue lost to fraud (20%), with 1 in 5 e-commerce transactions declined as fraudulent—twice the global average.
At Zenpli, we have immersed ourselves in the world of fraud to understand the sources and methods employed by bad actors. Doing this gives us an edge to proactively spot trends and map the biggest threats on the rise: synthetic fraud and identity theft.
Active Listening Unveiled:
Over the past 6-months, we monitored websites, social media, messaging apps, forums, and public spaces frequented by fraudsters. Our goal? Extract intelligence on the economics of fraud, tactics, timing, and the prevalence of these activities in the market.
Fraud Insights From One of LATAM’s Largest Market:
1. Volume and Seasonality: In November, chatter about illegal activity more than doubled (2.31X) compared to the previous 6 months, peaking during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Buen fin events in Mexico. Fraudsters are keen on exploiting year-end promotions and higher ticket items on sale.
2. Areas of Interest: Fraudsters are focused on buying/selling active digital accounts, representing 80% of the monitored activity. Among 12 tracked industries, BNPL, neobanks, and e-commerce were prime targets, constituting over 65% of the total volume.
3. What Are Fraudsters After? Long story short: cash. The average selling price for an active digital account is 400 MXN (approx. 23 USD) and with a small investment of 35 MXN (2 USD), fraudsters can achieve an ROI north of 10X. If the fraudster buys an account with an approved credit and buys something at the average price for online purchases of 2,693 MXN (approx. 154 USD), the ROI skyrockets to an astonishing 76X per account.
Are You Protected? Our investigation reveals that up to 15% of active accounts on major digital platforms may be synthetic identities waiting for fraudulent transactions to occur.
Stay Informed! Curious to learn more? Reach out to us! We're eager to help you identify and prevent bad actors from infiltrating your business.
