The industry leader in financial crime management, Verafin is offering trends and benchmarking statistics for wire fraud and related scams – allowing for unparalleled insight into new and emerging trends. We have gathered insights into key fraud trends by analyzing our consortium-based data set in the Verafin Cloud, representing $4T in collective assets from 2200 financial institutions. Our recently released report, Cloud Insights: Wire Fraud Benchmarking Report for Q3 2022, describes attempted wire fraud trends and statistics observed from Verafin Cloud data from Q2 2020 to Q1 2022.
Exploiting Elders:
Attempted Wire Fraud Losses Increase
Quarter after quarter, elder financial abuse remains dominant: seniors are at risk for significant wire fraud losses. In Q1 2022, wire fraud occurrences against elderly persons (people aged 55 or older) accounted for nearly half (49%) of all attempts. Losses saw a sharp increase from Q1 2021 to Q2 2022, with the median value for attempted wire fraud against persons increasing from $6K to $9.5K in this time. Elderly persons continue to be preferred victims for wire fraud, accounting for 68% of occurrences and 71% of attempted wire fraud value in Q1 2022.
Business Beware:
Attempted Wire Fraud Doubles from Q1 2020
Business Email Compromise (BEC) and similar schemes prove to be very lucrative for fraudsters. Attempted wire fraud against businesses in Q1 2022 increased slightly in occurrence, and more than doubled in value when compared to Q1 2021. Finance and Insurance (23%) and Wholesale and Retail Trade (14%) led attempts by occurrence in Q1 2022, while Finance and Insurance (21%) and Construction (17%) led value. The median value for attempted wire fraud increased from Q1 2021 ($18.3K) to Q1 2022 ($28K).
Developments in Domestic Wire Fraud:
Continued Focus of Fraudsters
Q1 2022 saw attempted domestic wire fraud increase in value and occurrence. In this quarter, the median value of a domestic wire fraud attempt was $10K, up from $8.3K in Q1 2021. California saw a significant increase by occurrence (26%) and Massachusetts surged by value (403%) from Q4 2021 to Q1 2022.
International Increases:
Hong Kong and China Top Wire Fraud Attempts by Occurrence and Value
While Q1 2022 saw a decrease in international wire fraud attempts by value and occurrence, the median value of an international wire fraud attempt in this period was $15.5K, up from $14.5K in Q1 2021. From Q4 2021 to Q1 2022, Hong Kong saw a significant increase in wire fraud attempts by occurrence (96%) and China a major increase by value (286%).
See the Full Picture of Fraud with Verafin:
The Need for Consortium-Based Solutions
Fraud trends are constantly evolving, and financial institutions need to look beyond their own four walls to stay ahead of new and sophisticated trends. With the rise of APP fraud scenarios, including BEC and scams targeting consumers, institutions need to be prepared to protect themselves and their customers.
With a consortium-based data set offering unique counterparty insights, Verafin’s industry-leading solution effectively identifies fraud scams and mule accounts, reduces false positive alerts, and allows you to stop fraudulent wires before funds leave your institution.
For further wire fraud statistics, emerging trends, and key insights for your institution, download our new Report now.