East Africa tops continent’s digital identity fraud in 2024

East Africa recorded the highest rejection rate for biometric and document verification attempts in Africa last year, a new report on the continent’s state of digital identity fraud shows.

Verification rejection occurs when a request to verify a person's identity or other information is denied, such as due to mismatched information or document issues.

The 2025 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report by verification provider SmileID shows that East Africa recorded a 27 per cent rejection rate, largely driven by inconsistent and poor-quality identity documents in countries like Zambia, Rwanda, and Sudan.

Central Africa and West Africa were at 22 per cent while Southern Africa’s rejection rate last year was 21 per cent.

In East Africa, the report shows fraud peaked in January 2024 at nearly 40 per cent.

Spoofing, a technique where cybercriminals disguise a sender's identity or the URL of a website to trick a victim into thinking they are interacting with a trusted source, was the most frequent type of document fraud across regions.

The report found widespread use of falsified or altered documents to bypass verification.

At the same time, national IDs recorded the highest fraud rate in the continent at 27 per cent, followed by driver’s licenses (24%) and passports (20%).

Android devices remained the dominant choice for fraud attempts throughout the year, compared to iOS devices.

The study found fraud tactics exploiting vulnerabilities in fintech platforms and digital ecosystems, accelerated by emerging technologies such as generative AI, deep-fakes, and insider-assisted schemes.

“Document fraud remains one of the most persistent forms of identity fraud in Africa, evolving with advancements in technology and increased reliance on digital verification,” the report says.

Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID, said financial technology (fintech) platforms with weak KYC protocols remain the most vulnerable.

“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,” he said.

Across all African regions, fraudulent activities concentrated between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. EAT and peaked at 2 a.m.

The study analysed anonymised data from over 110 million identity verification checks conducted by Smile ID across the continent.