Many will agree that the economics of fraud have shifted dramatically, making it more affordable than ever for fraudsters to execute large-scale operations with minimal investment.

Today, anyone can access the resources needed to launch fraudulent schemes, regardless of their technical expertise.

Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification platform, coins this trend as the “democratisation of fraud” in their 2024 APAC Identity Fraud report.

This shift is largely driven by Fraud-as-a-Service (FaaS) technological platforms and widely available fraud tools, which provide a range of services to facilitate cybercrime, including identity theft, account takeovers, and financial fraud.

Inside APAC’s Identity Fraud Trends: From Tutorials to Industrialised Fraud

For example, many beginner fraudsters turn to dark web forums, fraudster communities, or private chats to learn the basics of hacking, phishing, or financial fraud.

Tutorials or guides are often sold or shared for free on these platforms.

On average, acquiring basic knowledge through dark web courses or fraud manuals can cost between US$50 and US$300, depending on the depth of the information.

The scalability offered by FaaS models further amplifies the issue, enabling fraudsters to launch a higher volume of attacks and making it even more difficult for businesses to detect, prevent, and mitigate fraud effectively.

Alongside the rise in mass fraud, there has also been a notable increase in more sophisticated, organised fraud schemes.

According to the APAC Identity Fraud Trends 2024 report, approximately one in every 100 online platform users was involved in a fraud network in 2024.

These operations, often involving coordinated fraud networks and money muling, target multiple platforms and industries and are more difficult to detect and disrupt, leading to significant financial losses for businesses.

Other interesting facts from the report revealed the following:

•  121% Year-on-Year (YoY) increase in identity fraud in 2024 across the region, with significant surges recorded in Singapore (207%), Indonesia (205%), and Thailand (201%)

•  Deepfake fraud saw a 194% YoY spike in APAC and increased 4x globally, now making up 7% of all fraud attempts in 2024, from 2023.

•  Seven of the top-10 jurisdictions for such fraud networks are concentrated in the APAC region, including Thailand, China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

As economies across APAC continue to digitalise, the threat of identity fraud will only escalate.

The shift towards a digital-first economy presents greater opportunities for fraudsters, making it even more critical for businesses and governments to take proactive measures.

Without a robust framework for identity verification and fraud prevention, the rise in cybercrime will continue to undermine the growth of the digital economy and erode consumer trust.

Learn more and download the full Sumsub 2024 APAC Identity Fraud Report here. 

Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik