Canadian Cybercrime and Fraud Trends Report Notes a Drastic Increase in Bot and Human Initiated Attacks

08/15/2023

ATLANTA — LexisNexis® Risk Solutions published its Canadian Cybercrime and Fraud Trends Report, which provides an overview on Canadian transactions and attacks detected by the LexisNexis® Digital Identity Network® between January-December 2022. Canadian transactions processed by the Digital Identity Network® totaled approximately 8 billion in 2022, a 32% increase year over year (YOY). Based on the report’s findings, Canada experienced a 30% increase in human initiated attacks and a 52% increase in bot attacks.

The study found that digital transactions increased significantly in Canada YOY with 80% of transactions occurring via mobile devices. Notably, the Canadian mobile browser attack rate increased to 5.1% YOY and was substantially higher than the worldwide average of 2.7% during the same period.

Canadian financial services organizations experienced one of the highest overall attack rates globally, second only to LATAM financial services organizations. The highest attack rates across Canadian financial services occurred at new account opening (5.2%) and payments (5.8%). Notably, the Canadian ecommerce industry experienced a significant 183% increase in bot attacks.   

“This study shows that Canadian organizations experience unique fraud trends compared to global and U.S. averages. The growth in bot volume in Canada was substantial and certain industries such as financial services experienced some of the highest attack rates globally,” said Alanna Shuh, director, fraud and identity strategy for Canada, LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “It’s clear that organizations utilizing a global intelligence consortium and layering solutions at each consumer touchpoint are better equipped to stop fraud in its tracks, especially given the increasing size and complexity of global fraud networks.”

Key takeaways from The LexisNexis Risk Solutions Canadian Cybercrime and Fraud Trends Report:

• Growth in Digital Transactions: At the time of the report, digital transactions in the Digital Identity Network® grew 32% YOY.
• Mobile Channels at High Risk: Canada is consistently a highly mobile country relative to other global regions with 80% of transactions occurring via the mobile channel. Canada also experienced an especially high mobile browser attack rate of 5.1% compared to the global mobile browser attack rate of 2.7%.  
• Different Industries, Different Attack Trends: Canada experienced a 30% increase in human-initiated attacks and a 52% increase in bot attacks YOY. The ecommerce industry saw a 183% increase in bot attacks, while financial services experienced a 31% increase in human initiated attacks.

Access the Canadian Cybercrime and Fraud Trends Report.

Methodology
The study analyzed 79.8B global transactions between January – December 2022 across industries and use cases utilizing digital identity intelligence to distinguish good users from fraudsters. The Digital Identity Network uses device, location, behavior and threat data to help verify legitimacy of transactions while reporting attacks. The study focused on interactions with digital services, not network intrusion attacks. 

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis® Risk Solutions provides customers with information-based analytics and decision tools that combine public and industry-specific content with advanced technology and algorithms to assist them in evaluating and predicting risk and enhancing operational efficiency. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, the company has offices throughout the world, serves customers in more than 190 countries and territories and is part of RELX. For more information, please visit LexisNexis Risk Solutions and RELX.