69% of Africa’s biometric fintech fraud is now AI-generated, says report
- In 2025, a fraud syndicate used 100 stolen faces to launch over 160,000 verification attacks across Africa’s fintech platforms.
- The report indicates that attacks are now five times more common during logins and account recovery than at account registration.
- Fraud networks are reusing the same identities at scale, with some identities appearing over 12,000 times in verification attempts.
The findings of the Smile ID report underscore the urgent need for fintech companies in Africa to evolve their identity verification systems. As fraud tactics become increasingly sophisticated, relying solely on traditional onboarding checks is no longer sufficient. A proactive approach that incorporates continuous monitoring and advanced security measures is essential to safeguard user accounts and maintain trust in the digital economy.
