TransUnion Finds 51% Of Consumers Report Being Targeted For Mobile Fraud

51% Of Consumers Report Being Targeted For Mobile Fraud: SMSishing/Vishing/Phishing

The question “who’s calling now?” has become ubiquitous and a sign of the times for mobile users as fraud and spammers repeatedly target consumers through their phones.

TransUnion announced that their 2023 Telecommunications Consumer Report found that around one-third of consumers experience fraud attempts multiple times per week, if not daily. The most common attacks include social engineering schemes that try to convince consumers to give sensitive information, like phishing, which typically occurs via email; vishing, which happens via phone calls and voice messages; and SMSishing, which occurs over text message. The research includes a consumer survey of attitudes and behaviors regarding fraud mitigation on mobile devices, including use of third-party services and the influence of AI.

Percentage of Consumers Experiencing Fraud Attempts Multiple Times per Week or Daily:

Phishing 40%
Vishing 32%
SMSishing 30%

Dan Carella, head of TransUnion’s communications vertical:

“Consumers face a near constant bombardment of fraud attempts on their mobile devices. Understandably, they are looking to mobile carriers for help reducing the volume of these threats.”

Across generations, consumers cited mobile phone carriers, like Verizon and T-Mobile, as the most responsible for protecting consumers from fraud on mobile devices. Baby Boomers were most adamant about this as 45% of that generation identified mobile phone carriers as responsible, compared to Millennials (39%), Gen X (38%) and Gen Z (33%).

Source: TransUnion media announcement

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