In an unexpected twist, fraud rates during the busiest week of the year have plunged over 30% compared to last year. According to fresh data from TransUnion, only 4.6% of global e-commerce transactions were flagged as suspicious during the “Cyber Five” period – the critical shopping days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.

This marks a significant drop from last year’s 6.0% fraud rate.

Thanksgiving Is The New Fraudiest Day Of The Year

The data from Transunion tells an intriguing story. Thanksgiving Day, has emerged as the riskiest shopping day of the year, with a 5.4% fraud rate. The pattern then showed an interesting decline through the weekend, with Cyber Monday recording the lowest fraud rate at 3.6% for U.S. transactions.

Did The Fraudsters Take A Vacation?

In another surprising and unexpected twist, fraud rates on Black Friday were significantly lower than the average for the entire year.

Before the holiday season, the global fraud rate stood at 7.5% in 2024, while the U.S. experienced a 7.1% fraud rate. With a 3.7% fraud rate, it looks like many fraudsters decided to take a holiday break as well.

Is Black Friday just not the threat it once used to be?

Despite the encouraging trends, the battle against digital fraud continues to evolve. With 64% of consumers expressing significant concerns about digital fraud, the challenge for retailers extends beyond mere fraud prevention instead focusing on how to make them feel safe.

Black Friday Is Now Everyday

According to TransUnion retailers need to change their mindset and not focus to heavily on Black Friday anymore.

“The late U.S. Thanksgiving holiday along, with the general lengthening of the holiday shopping season were factors in the overall decline in transactions and the concurrent downtick in suspected fraud during the Cyber Five,” said Steve Yin, global head of fraud at TransUnion.

“This speaks to the need to maintain diligence year-round for online retailers. For the remainder of this holiday shopping season and beyond, online retailers must continue to implement tools that maintain a friction-right experience, wherein both business and consumer are protected without major disruption.”