Brazil reports surge in digital fraud attempts as AI solutions target e‑commerce losses

A new fraud map released by Serasa Experian identified 1,495,696 attempted identity and registration frauds in Brazil during the first quarter of 2026 – roughly one attempt every five seconds. The volume marks a 36.6% rise from the same period a year earlier and could generate up to R$1.98 billion in losses for consumers and companies if unchecked. The financial sector accounted for 60% of cases, with payment services leading (644,586 attempts), followed by telecom (313,200) and banks and cards (259,160). The Southeast region, especially São Paulo, recorded the highest concentration, responsible for 15.8% of all attempts.

E‑commerce firms are confronting the threat with artificial‑intelligence‑based anti‑fraud systems. FastPay Brasil, a sub‑acquirer integrated with platforms such as Shopify and VTEX, uses behavioral AI to tailor detection rules to each merchant’s ticket size and niche, cutting false‑positive alerts and operational costs by up to 60%. The broader e‑commerce sector blocked 2.3 million fraud attempts in 2025, averting estimated losses of R$2.4 billion, but also faced significant costs from legitimate transactions wrongly declined. Studies cited show AI models can reduce false positives by over half, improving conversion rates while still preventing fraud.