Smile ID Releases 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report

Fraud is evolving at an alarming pace, leaving its mark across industries in Africa. From the surge in biometric fraud to the growing use of advanced document manipulation techniques, fraudsters are employing increasingly sophisticated tactics to exploit vulnerabilities.

To help businesses and regulators stay ahead, we are thrilled to announce the release of the 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report—a comprehensive analysis of fraud trends and tactics across the continent. This report explores rising, such as the rise of attempts to bypass biometric systems or the manipulation of identity documents to exploit gaps in verification processes.

By shedding light on these challenges, the report equips businesses with actionable insights to protect their operations and customers, while offering data to support informed regulatory decisions.

About the 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report

The report provides critical insights into sophisticated fraud tactics, and fraud trends across different regions in Africa - Central, East, West and Southern, and showcases the effectiveness of advanced biometric technologies in combating these threats. It covers types of fraud, especially the rise of Generative AI fraud, deepfakes, insider-assisted account takeover, identity farming and layered money laundering. 

This report is based on a comprehensive and anonymised analysis of over 110 million identity verification checks conducted by Smile ID in various industries across Africa from January to December 2024. It focused on fraud trends in textual, biometric, and document verifications, with particular attention to biometric checks.

The Rise of Identity Farming and Generative AI Fraud

Two significant trends emerged as key threats in 2024: identity farming as a cornerstone of layered money laundering schemes and the rise of generative AI-driven fraud. 

1. Identity Farming: A Key Driver of Layered Money Laundering

Identity farming has become a pivotal tool for facilitating complex money laundering schemes across Africa. Fraudsters exploit personal data—often obtained from vulnerable populations in unbanked or low-literacy regions—through phishing, data breaches, or purchases from illicit sources. This data is then used to create fraudulent accounts that serve as the backbone of layered money laundering operations.

2. Generative AI: The New Frontier in Fraud

Generative AI is transforming Africa’s fraud landscape, enabling criminals to sidestep traditional verification measures with unprecedented precision. Fraudsters now utilise AI to create hyper-realistic fake documents, voices, and images, facilitating identity impersonation and financial crimes.

High-profile incidents, such as the impersonation of African Union officials using deepfake technology, reveal the far-reaching implications of AI-driven fraud. Beyond financial loss, such attacks erode trust in both financial and civic institutions. Mitigating these threats requires the adoption of advanced defences like dynamic liveness detection and strengthened biometric solutions to stay ahead of these evolving tactics.

Key Highlights from the 2025 Report

Here are some key insights from the report: 

1. Biometric Fraud on the Rise: Biometric fraud reached a record quarterly average of 16% in 2024, with advanced AI tools fueling the increase.
2. Fraud Attempts Spike During Authentication
   Fraud attempts during user authentication were four times higher than at registration, underscoring the growing threat of account takeover attacks.
3. Mobile SDKs Outperform Other Fraud Detection Methods
   Smile ID’s Mobile SDKs detected 68% of all fraud cases, proving to be twice as effective as other integration methods.
4. Dynamic Liveness Detection: A Game-Changer Against AI Fraud
   Dynamic Liveness Detection emerged as the most effective defence against AI-driven fraud, blocking deepfakes, generative AI faces, and replay attacks while ensuring accurate user verification.
5. The Financial Sector Remains a Prime Target
   Digital banks and microfinance institutions experienced peak fraud rates at 35% and 30%, of all document and biometric verifications in 2024 respectively, making them prime targets for sophisticated fraud schemes.

Why This Report Matters

The 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report is a must-read for businesses, policymakers, and industry leaders. It not only sheds light on the latest fraud tactics but also provides practical recommendations to safeguard digital ecosystems. As fraudsters continue to innovate, staying informed and proactive is critical to maintaining trust and security in Africa’s rapidly growing digital economy.

Download the 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report