Over 70% of consumers at risk of falling victim to digital fraud

This includes emails that offer free gifts and exclusive deals. 

As much as consumers claim to be tech-savvy enough to recognize scams, Visa found that 73% are still likely to miss the requisite red flags in digital communications.

Visa referred to the language of fraud as “fraudulese,” which can be seen in texts or emails that offer free gifts, winning, exclusive deals, or act now messages. 

“Understanding the language of fraud is increasingly essential in our digital-first world. Scammers have reached new heights of sophistication in both language and variety – no one is immune,” Pavan Kumar Muttireddy, Head of Risk, Visa Hong Kong & Macau, said. 

“Education around the language of scams is an integral part of our consumer protection and highlighting the commonalities in the language of fraud helps prevent crime globally.”

Read more: One in 4 consumers in APAC have been victims of online fraud

Citing data from the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre, Visa noted that out of the 16,000+ security events recorded in Hong Kong in Q4 2022, phishing attacks launched via emails or instant messages was the greatest type of security threat, with a 90% increase quarter-on-quarter to over 13,000 incidents recorded. 

In FY22 alone, Visa has proactively blocked US$7.2b (HK$56.5b) in attempted fraudulent payments across 122 million transactions before those transactions impacted clients.