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Tanzania and Nigeria have emerged as the leading countries in Africa for higher fraud rates, according to a recent report from the global verification platform, Sumsub.
The report indicates that while traditional scams like document forgery are declining, synthetic identity fraud driven by AI and digital forgery tools is on the rise.
In its Q1 2025 Identity Fraud Report, Sumsub reported a slight decrease in the continent's overall fraud rate to 3.42 percent, down from 3.50 percent in the same quarter last year.
However, this minor decline conceals a significant transformation in criminal methods. "Africa's fraud landscape is experiencing a major shift.
Improved verification tools have significantly reduced traditional document forgery, but criminals are evolving with synthetic identities and AI-based scams," stated Hannes Bezuidenhout, Sumsub's VP of Sales for Africa.
Despite the overall decline across the continent, both Tanzania and Nigeria reported increases in fraud rates, with Tanzania at 4.89 percent and Nigeria at 4.44 percent.
Tanzania's fraud rate increased by almost 10 percent, while Nigeria's saw a 2.5 percent rise.
Conversely, South Africa experienced a notable reduction of 26 percent, and Kenya reported a 15.5 percent decrease.
Interestingly, Nigeria's fraud statistics present a mixed scenario; while the overall fraud rate increased, document forgery decreased dramatically by nearly 80 percent due to enhanced verification systems.
South Africa followed a similar trend, with document forgery plummeting by more than 73 percent. Kenya and Ghana also reported significant cuts in document fraud—45 percent and 50 percent, respectively.
As traditional forgery declines, synthetic identity fraud, involving AI-generated credentials and fake documents, is rapidly expanding in specific markets. The report highlights that while synthetic document fraud remains under 0.3 percent in South Africa, it has skyrocketed by 480 percent year-on-year.
In Tanzania, it constitutes over two percent of all verification attempts, marking a 184 percent increase, while in Nigeria, it has risen by 192 percent, now representing 1.5 percent of verification attempts.
Sumsub observed that this trend aligns with global patterns, even though Africa does not stand out regarding total synthetic fraud volumes. The report also detailed how identity fraud is changing across various industries in Africa.
Although sectors like IT services, gaming, and social media have seen substantial reductions, fraud-related activities in financial sectors have risen.
The data illustrates that professional services and social media platforms remain high-risk areas, with nearly six percent of all verification attempts in Q1 2025 flagged as fraudulent.
Bezuidenhout emphasized the urgent need for businesses to upgrade their approaches to digital identity and compliance, stating, "The data indicates that preventing fraud has become a race between innovation and adaptation.
Companies must invest in advanced tools that secure their platforms while adhering to regulatory standards." As fraudsters increasingly exploit synthetic identities, experts suggest that the focus should shift from spotting counterfeit documents to identifying fabricated digital personas.
