Smile ID Launches the 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report

Smile ID is thrilled to announce the release of the 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report, a deep dive into the latest trends, insights, and actionable strategies to safeguard your business against the growing threat of identity fraud. This comprehensive analysis is the most detailed fraud report focused on the African market and is based on Smile ID’s data from over 110 million verifications conducted in 2024.

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What to Expect?

As predicted by Smile ID in the last report, AI-driven fraud is now a pressing concern across Africa. Fraudsters have rapidly adopted AI tools—once free and low-cost—to manipulate biometric data, leading to a sevenfold increase in deepfake incidents from Q2 to Q4 of 2024. This surge signals an alarming shift in the fraud landscape, where traditional defences are struggling to keep pace with highly sophisticated and easily accessible generative AI techniques.

Additionally, the report doesn’t just reflect on the past year—it offers insightful predictions for 2025 and beyond, along with actionable strategies to strengthen fraud prevention measures and ensure your business stays ahead of the curve.

Key Insights from the Report

• Biometric Fraud Rate Hits a Quarterly High of 16%: Biometric fraud has surged, with a quarterly average of 16%, marking the highest rate recorded over the past three years. This upward trend indicates that fraudsters are increasingly targeting biometric verification methods.

• Fraud at Authentication 4x Higher for Returning Users: The risk of fraud at the authentication stage is disproportionately higher for returning users. Fraud rates for this group are now four times greater than for new registrants, highlighting the rising threat of account takeover fraud.

• Mobile SDKs Prove to Be a Powerful Fraud Prevention Tool: Mobile SDKs have emerged as the most effective solution for preventing fraud, detecting 68% of fraud cases, which is twice as high as other integration methods such as APIs. This data reinforces the importance of choosing the right tools to safeguard user accounts.

The Risks That Lie Ahead

The report also exposes the rise of identity farming as a key part of layered money laundering and how it’s impacting the digital landscape in Africa. It outlines key action points that businesses, regulators, and service providers must consider in order to protect themselves, their customers, and their digital identities.

The stakes are high—fraud erodes trust in digital services, and the ripple effects impact the entire digital economy.

Stay ahead of the curve—download the report today and discover actionable strategies to safeguard your business and lead the charge against fraud in 2025 and beyond.