Botswana recorded the lowest rate of suspected digital fraud among African countries analysed by TransUnion in 2025, with just 0.9% of transaction attempts flagged as potentially fraudulent, well below the global average of 3.8%.
However, the report warns that fraudsters are increasingly shifting towards scam-based tactics that exploit trust in growing digital ecosystems. Account creation emerged as the most vulnerable stage in Botswana’s digital consumer lifecycle, accounting for the highest suspected fraud rate at 2.6%.
The retail sector recorded the highest level of suspected digital fraud attempts at 1.9%, followed by online gaming (1.8%) and financial services (1.1%). While the overall volume of suspected fraud attempts declined significantly across these sectors compared to 2024, experts caution that Botswana must strengthen identity verification and onboarding processes as digital adoption accelerates.
“Early safeguards can make a meaningful difference as the digital ecosystem matures,” said TransUnion Africa Senior Director of Fraud Product Management, Amritha Reddy.
