New data from a global leader in verification and anti-fraud provider Sumsub shows a dramatic global increase in synthetic identity document fraud from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025. This fraud type, when gen-AI is used to generate totally artificial documents, has increased by 195% globally -  showing the continuation of a clear move towards AI-enabled fraud.

This fraud type has grown by 378% in Europe - more than all other regions, and by 275% in the UK - behind Germany (567%), and France (281%).

Rising synthetic identity document fraud 

• Europe: 378% 

• North America: 311%

• MENA: 258%

• APAC: 233%

• LATAM: 140%

• Africa: 121%

The top 5 industries with highest synthetic fraud increase globally:

• Crypto

• Trading

• Transportation

• Fintech

• Gambling

Inversely, the growth of traditional document forgery has decreased all over the world - except for Europe, where it’s increased by a third. 

• Global: -46%

• APAC: -49%

• Europe: +33%

• North America: -50%

• LATAM: -64%

• Africa: -82%

• MENA: -46%

Methodology behind Sumsub data detailed below*

Convincing personal documents can be created in seconds with gen-AI - and these  synthetic documents are increasingly being used to try to bypass verification procedures by both individuals and fraud networks.

While sophisticated verification checks are likely to catch these, it’s yet another example of the real and growing risk businesses face without sophisticated, multi-layered anti-fraud and verification procedures. This is further validated by the fact 76% of fraud occurs after the onboarding stage, where tactics like 'money muling’, device fingerprint spoofing, credential stuffing and more threatening businesses which rely on KYC measures.

Europe’s rapid digital transformation, driven by the proliferation of remote onboarding and all-digital challenger banks, has made the region a valuable target for fraud. A fragmented regulatory, cultural, and linguistic landscape - and it still lacks a unified identity verification standard, resulting in varying levels of scrutiny and interoperability.

"The rise of AI-generated fraud is exposing critical flaws in traditional verification systems, and this data shows sophisticated, fake documents are becoming a key tool in the fraudster’s arsenal,” said Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI/ML at Sumsub. “We expect companies like OpenAI to strengthen safeguards controlling the use of its programs to generate passports, IDs, and other personal documents

Deepfakes still on the rise

Artificially generated images and videos, like documents, continue to rise dramatically the world over. This was particularly true in North America, which saw the biggest increase in the world (1,100%), closely followed by Europe (900%), exceeding the global regional average rise over the period (700%).

The top 5 nations with the highest increases in deepfake fraud

• Hong Kong: 1,900%

• Singapore: 1,500%

• Mainland China: 1,183%

• Germany: 1,100%

• United Kingdom: 900%