Nigeria leads with 5.91% cases of identity thefts in Africa

• Fraudsters now outsource operations
• Cryptocurrency scams now on the prowl

Identity theft is currently rocking Africa with Nigeria recording the highest rate in the region in 2024 at 5.91 per cent, followed by Algeria, Tanzania, Madagascar and Chad. Identity theft occurs when someone steals another person’s personal information and credentials to commit fraud.

According to the Identity Fraud Report 2024 by Sumsub, which lists the rest of the top 10 African countries hit by identity fraud to include Uganda, Niger, Cameroon, Kenya and Comoros, all the African countries in the top 10 more than doubled their fraud rates during the year.

Sumsub said fraud was no longer limited to expert criminals. It noted that new technologies had made committing fraud easier, eliminating the need for specialised skills, like coding or technical expertise.

These services, according to the body, allow even novice fraudsters to carry out attacks, making fraud more accessible and widespread. The report revealed that the average year-over-year (YoY) fraud rate growth in Africa reached 167 per cent this year, with Niger, Angola and South Africa leading the continent with identity fraud rate growth during the year of over 300 per cent.

For other regions, Europe, 150 per cent; U.S/Canada, 112 per cent; Middle East, 137 per cent; APAC, 121 per cent; and LATAM/Caribbean, 137 per cent. Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, observed that fraud had become increasingly cheaper to commit, with $1,000 creating the potential for $2.5 million in monthly business losses. It pointed out that the rise of FaaS models also allows fraudsters to outsource key aspects of their operations to specialised providers.

Regionally, the report said U.S (U.S and Canada) region witnessed 1.66 per cent; Latvia (Europe), 3.35 per cent; Iraq (Middle East) 3.92 per cent; Indonesia (APAC), 6.02 per cent; Argentina (LATAM and Caribbean), 4.74 per cent and Nigeria (Africa), 5.91 per cent.

The report, which is the fourth from Sumsub, which is an analysis of identity fraud dynamics, is based on millions of verifications checks and over three million fraud attempts analysed between 2023 and 2024.

The report said Africa showed an average deepfake fraud rate increase of 393 per cent YoY, making it the second biggest regional spike after the Middle East, which saw deepfake fraud increase by 643 per cent YoY.

The report noted that in Africa, only 33 per cent of consumer respondents to Sumsub’s Fraud Exposure Survey 2024 experienced fraud attempts, but 73 per cent said they were worried about the influence of deepfakes on both current and future elections.

Vice President of Business Development for Africa at Sumsub, Hannes Bezuidenhout, said: “The growing use of cryptocurrency in Nigeria has provided fraudsters with new opportunities for fraud. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of cryptocurrency adoption in the world, especially due to its use as an alternative financial system in light of currency devaluation and limited access to foreign exchange.