Gaming tops Namibia's fraud risk sectors
Namibia recorded a suspected digital fraud rate of 1.2% on transaction attempts in 2025, less than a third of the global average of 3.8%, according to new research by credit and fraud intelligence firm TransUnion.
Despite the comparatively low rate, which fell year on year both in Namibia and globally, the findings point to a shift in how fraudsters operate, away from technical exploits and towards tactics that exploit trust in familiar digital environments.
Among Namibian consumers who reported losing money to digital fraud over the past year, more than a third, 35%, said the losses occurred through third-party seller scams on legitimate e-commerce websites. The median reported loss was N$7 726.
"Even in a lower-risk market like Namibia, fraudsters are prioritising mainstream platforms that consumers trust," said Amritha Reddy, senior director of fraud product management at TransUnion Africa. "This mirrors global fraud patterns, even if overall loss values remain lower."
Money mule scams were the second most commonly cited cause of loss at 24%, followed by account takeover at 21% and phishing at 20%.
Fraud risk highest at account creation
The research found that risk in Namibia was most acute at the point of account creation, where the suspected digital fraud rate stood at 2.8% in 2025. That compared with 1.4% at account login and 0.2% during financial transactions.
Reddy said the pattern was consistent with what TransUnion has observed in other markets at an early stage of digital adoption. "Markets that fail to strengthen fraud prevention at onboarding early tend to experience rapid escalation of login-based fraud later," she said. "Namibia therefore has a critical opportunity to reinforce identity verification and behavioural intelligence now, before fraud becomes systemic."
Gaming sector records highest fraud attempt rate
Among the sectors analysed, online gaming, which includes sports betting and poker, recorded the highest suspected digital fraud attempt rate for transactions involving Namibian consumers in 2025, at 4.5%. Retail followed at 2.7% and financial services at 1.2%.
The volume of suspected fraud attempts in the gaming sector fell 32% from 2024 to 2025, while retail saw a sharper drop of 95% and financial services declined 15%.
"High-engagement platforms such as gaming often act as early testing grounds for new fraud tactics," Reddy said. "In Namibia's digital economy, fraud doesn't stay in silos. It moves wherever trust and engagement already exist."
Consumers willing to trade friction for security
The TransUnion survey also found that Namibian consumers place a high premium on data security when deciding where to transact online. 89% rated confidence in the security of their personal data as very important, ahead of easy payment processes at 81% and ease of login or authentication at 76%.
"Consumers are willing to accept friction when it clearly enhances protection," Reddy said. "Security in Namibia is increasingly becoming a driver of brand trust and differentiation, not just regulatory compliance."
