An analysis of document, biometric, and textual verifications showed a 14% decline in fraud detected during KYC checks in Africa, according to a new 2025 report released by digital identity solutions provider, Smile ID.
Per the report, the drop in identity fraud saw the rejection rate of digital identification attempts across the continent consequently drop from 29% in 2023 to 25%.
2025 Fraud in Africa Report | @usesmileid detected hundreds of thousands of account takeover attempts in 2024.
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— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) January 30, 2025
However, this year-over-year progress has driven fraudsters to adopt more sophisticated attack methods targeting biometric systems, leading to millions of dollars in fraud losses across key African markets, noted Smile ID.
Monthly Fraud Rates by Region
- East Africa saw a 27% rejection rate for combined biometric and document verification, primarily due to inconsistent and low-quality identity documents in countries like Zambia, Rwanda, and Sudan, which continue to pose challenges for verification.
- Central Africa followed with a 22% rejection rate, reflecting a 3% increase from 2023.
- Similarly, West Africa saw its rejection rate rise to 22%, a significant jump from 12% in 2023, driven by a surge in biometric fraud attempts.
- Meanwhile, Southern Africa experienced a sharp increase in rejection rates, climbing from 9% to 21%, largely due to fraud involving the phasing out of the retiring Green Book.
Smile ID, which recently surpassed 200 million digital identity verification checks, established that National IDs had the highest fraud rate in Africa at 27%, reflecting their widespread use as the primary form of identification.
MILESTONE | Africa-Focussed ID Solutions Provider, #SmileID, Exceeds 200 Million Verification Checks, Doubling From 100 Million in Just 11 Months
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Driver’s Licenses followed at 24% as their frequent use across both formal and informal settings increased their exposure to misuse.
Passports, often considered more secure due to stricter issuance protocols, recorded a 20% fraud rate.
The “Others” category, which includes Work Permits and Alien Cards, accounted for 19%, while Voter’s IDs had the lowest fraud rate at 14%.
Finance, E-commerce, and Crypto remain the most affected industries by identity fraud.
Speaking on the report,Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID, said:
“The future of fraud prevention lies in adaptability. While AI provides fraudsters with powerful new tools, it also helps security practitioners harness global intelligence to counter zero-day attacks and automate processes that were once manual.
Fintech platforms with weak KYC protocols remain the most vulnerable, as these bad actors use identity farming to create fraudulent accounts that conceal the origins of illicit funds.
Tackling these vulnerabilities requires collaboration between industries, governments, and technology providers to create a safer digital ecosystem.”
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