The report shows that 1.6% of transaction attempts involving consumers in Rwanda were flagged as suspected digital fraud in 2025, down from 2.7% in 2024 and significantly below the global average of 3.8%.

While the decline suggests improved detection and stronger safeguards, analysts caution that fraud risk is shifting rather than disappearing.

“Despite recording lower digital fraud rates than global and regional averages, Rwanda is experiencing a structural change in fraud risk,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. She noted that criminals are increasingly targeting identity and trust at the earliest stages of digital interaction.

Money mule scams dominate reported losses

Among Rwandan consumers who reported losing money to digital fraud in the past year, nearly three in ten (29%) said the losses were linked to money mule scams — the highest single category of fraud impact in the country.

Other major fraud types reported include account takeover (24%), social engineering (22%), fraudulent credit card transactions (22%), and unemployment benefits-related fraud (22%). Third-party seller scams on e-commerce platforms accounted for 21%, while identity theft stood at 19%. Messaging-based scams such as smishing, phishing, and vishing each accounted for between 13% and 15% of reported cases.

Experts say money mule schemes are particularly concerning because victims are often unknowingly recruited to move stolen funds, making them a key link between consumer fraud and broader financial crime networks.

“Money mules often are the bridge between consumer fraud and broader financial crime,” Reddy said. “As these activities scale, isolated scams evolve into wider systemic risks.”

The report highlights a shift in when fraud is most likely to occur in the digital lifecycle. In 2025, Rwanda recorded its highest suspected fraud rate at the account creation stage, at 7.7%. This was followed by account login (1.6%) and financial transactions (0.5%).

This pattern suggests that fraudsters are increasingly targeting identity systems rather than attempting to breach transactions directly.

“Rather than attacking systems directly, fraudsters increasingly impersonate legitimate users, blending into digital ecosystems designed for speed and inclusion,” Reddy explained. “Once a compromised identity is onboarded, downstream fraud becomes significantly more complex and costly to prevent.”

Across sectors, retail recorded the highest suspected digital fraud rate involving Rwandan consumers in 2025 at 7.1%, followed by online communities such as forums and dating platforms (2.1%) and gaming or betting platforms (1.7%).

While retail remains the most exposed sector, the data also shows a sharp drop in attempted fraud volumes compared to 2024, including a 97% decline in retail-related attempts.

Consumers prioritize security alongside convenience

The findings also reveal that Rwandan consumers increasingly value digital safety when engaging online. Easy payment processes (73%), confidence in personal data security (70%), and simplified forms and applications (64%) were identified as the most important features influencing trust in digital services.

“Consumers are willing to accept friction when it clearly enhances protection,” Reddy said, noting that security is becoming a key factor in digital trust and brand choice.

Rwanda’s efforts to strengthen its digital ecosystem, including investments in digital public infrastructure under National Identification Agency (NIDA) and the country’s broader Vision 2050 development agenda, are expected to reinforce secure onboarding and electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) systems.

The introduction of a new digital identification number is seen as a key step toward improving identity verification and reducing vulnerabilities at the point of account creation.

Fraud evolving, not disappearing

Despite the decline in overall suspected fraud rates, experts caution that the threat is becoming more adaptive, subtle, and harder to detect. Fraudsters are increasingly relying on psychological manipulation and cross-channel scams that exploit trust rather than technical vulnerabilities.

“Fraud is becoming more automated, more targeted and more psychologically manipulative,” Reddy said. “The central challenge ahead is no longer simply preventing fraud but preserving trust in the digital economy.”

The report draws on a global survey of 12,730 consumers across 18 countries, including 308 respondents in Rwanda, conducted between November and December 2025, alongside TransUnion’s global fraud intelligence network.

While Rwanda continues to outperform global averages in controlling suspected digital fraud, the findings suggest that the next challenge will be addressing increasingly sophisticated identity-based scams at the earliest stages of digital engagement.