Gen AI is Fueling a New Wave of Fraud in Africa, 2025 Smile ID Report Reveals
Drawing on anonymised data from over 110 million identity verification checks conducted by Smile ID across Central, East, West, and Southern Africa in 2024, the report highlights ongoing challenges and opportunities. The widespread adoption of biometric verification over traditional textual methods has significantly strengthened fraud prevention, driving the overall fraud rate during KYC checks down to 25% in 2024 (a 4-percentage-point decrease). However, this year-over-year progress has prompted fraudsters to develop more sophisticated attack methods targeting biometric systems, resulting in millions of dollars in fraud losses across key African markets. Smile ID continues to tackle unique threats African businesses face when onboarding users, such as identity farming, insider-assisted account takeovers, and advanced document forgeries.
The report revealed significant regional variations in fraud methods across Africa. East Africa led in document fraud cases, reporting the highest combined rejection rate at 27% in 2024, driven by the region's reliance on documents. West Africa emerged as the epicentre of biometric fraud, showing the highest incidents of spoofing and face-match inconsistencies, with notable vulnerability to AI-powered fraud attempts. Central Africa maintained a rejection rate of 22% [up by 3%], while Southern Africa saw rates rise from 9% to 21%, primarily attributed to fraud attempts involving the retiring green book.
Speaking on the report, Mark Straub, CEO of Smile ID, said:
'The future of fraud prevention lies in adaptability. While AI provides fraudsters with powerful new tools, it also helps security practitioners harness global intelligence to counter zero-day attacks and automate processes that were once manual.
'Fintech platforms with weak KYC protocols remain the most vulnerable, as 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.'
Founded in 2017, Smile ID has revolutionised identity verification in Africa, completing over 200 million verification checks by November 2024. As the continent's leading provider of digital identity verification, fraud detection, and KYC compliance solutions, the company delivers scalable, Africa-focused tools optimised for real-time onboarding, anti-fraud measures, and AI-driven identity verification.
here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business Insider
US faces $9.4bn tourism loss from new $250 visa fee targeting African countries
The United States could forfeit an estimated $9.4 billion in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new $250 'visa integrity fee,' according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs. The U.S. government recently introduced a $250 'visa integrity fee,' provoking concerns about negative impacts on tourism and economic activity. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the fee could generate $27 billion over ten years Industry experts however, claim the fee may lead to a loss of $9.4 billion in visitor spending and 15,000 travel industry jobs The United States' decision to introduce a $250 'visa integrity fee' on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions. The $250 'visa integrity fee, ' part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. The fee is non-waivable, non-reducible, and charged on top of existing MRV, anti-fraud, and reciprocity fees. The policy has drawn particular concern across Africa, where high travel costs, tariff barriers, and strict visa regimes already limit access to the American market. For many middle-class travellers from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, an additional $250 charge could turn U.S. tourism into a privilege reserved for the ultra-wealthy. Economic Fallout According to the U.S. Travel Association, the fee is expected to reduce visitor spending by $9.4 billion and tax revenue by $1.3 billion over the next three years. The group also estimates that about 15,000 U.S. travel jobs could be lost as a result of fewer international arrivals. Forbes reports that these projections stand in sharp contrast to calculations by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which expects the fee to generate $27 billion over ten years, roughly $2.7 billion annually, for the U.S. Treasury. However, industry economists argue the CBO analysis focused only on revenue collection, excluding the wider economic fallout of reduced travel demand. 'By longstanding tradition, the Congressional Budget Office does not incorporate macroeconomic feedback effects into its traditional cost estimates, ' a CBO spokesperson told Forbes. 'We didn't specifically do a dynamic analysis of this provision.' Similarly, Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, estimates the $250 fee could discourage 5.4% of international visitors, almost one million trips annually. Fewer visitors mean reduced spending on hotels, restaurants, retail, and cultural attractions, which in turn lowers tax income and weakens job creation. Erik Hansen, senior vice president of government relations at the U.S. Travel Association, said: 'Congress made the mistake of assuming that this worldwide visa integrity fee would not have a big impact on visitors from countries like India or Brazil. This is the exact type of armchair public policymaking that is going to get us into a big mess.' While Hansen highlighted India as a 'bright spot' for inbound travel, with Indian tourists spending $13.3 billion in the U.S. in 2024, similar growth has been recorded across Africa. Demand from students, entrepreneurs, and leisure travellers has been rising since the pandemic, with airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, and Royal Air Maroc expanding U.S. bound capacity. However, a new supercharge from Washington could halt this trajectory. For African students in particular, the cost comes on top of visa application charges, SEVIS fees, and proof-of-funds requirements. Analysts warn that the fee risks slowing down people-to-people exchanges, business travel, and academic opportunities that have traditionally linked the U.S. and Africa. And could redirect African families to more accessible destinations such as Canada, the UK, and China. Refund Controversy Congress has described the fee as refundable once a visa expires, provided all conditions are met. But with most U.S. visitor visas valid for ten years, the refund process appears impractical. ' The idea that you're going to give the government money and then wait around 10 years and remember to ask for it back, even if you followed the rules, is just absolutely crazy,' Hansen told Forbes. The CBO itself acknowledged that only 'a small number of people would seek reimbursement' and noted that the State Department would require years to create a refund system. Tourism Competitiveness at Risk The timing of the new fee raises further questions about U.S. tourism competitiveness and openness, especially as the country prepares to host global sporting events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. A World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) report in June forecast that international visitor spending in the U.S. could fall by as much as $29 billion in 2025, the only major economy projected to see a decline. 'While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the 'closed' sign,' Julia Simpson, president and CEO of WTTC, said. Outlook Unlike travellers from over 40 countries, including Japan, South Korea, most of Western Europe, and Australia, who enjoy visa-free entry to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program, no African country is included. This means African travellers, already burdened with strict visa requirements, will be disproportionately affected by the additional $250 fee. Fewer Africans travelling to the U.S. could mean reduced cultural, academic, and professional exchanges, weakening U.S.–Africa ties at a time when China, Europe, and the Gulf states are aggressively courting African travellers. The fee could also discourage family visits, cutting remittance-linked travel flows, and make it harder for African SMEs and startups to access U.S. markets.
NBC News
7 hours ago
- NBC News
Even at 1%, new tax will burden African immigrants who send money back home
A new remittance tax set to begin in the new year has one university student reeling from the implications it will have for her family in Nigeria. Edidiong Chrys, a second-generation Nigerian American, said she thinks the 1% tax passed as part of President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill ' would directly affect the financial lifeline she sends overseas. This tax will be applied to anyone in the U.S. who sends money abroad. 'We regularly send money home to support loved ones, including our elders, children in school, newborns and others in need,' she said. Chrys, 38, said some of the funds sent home have gone to new parents in her family, helping ease the cost of food and traveling to doctors' appointments. The funds also help her uncle, who has a job but also must pay for his five daughters, who are all in school. He and his wife work, but it's still not enough 'to accommodate all the things that need to hold the household down,' Chrys said. And then there's Chrys' 80-year-old grandmother, who was weathering back pain when Chrys visited in January. 'We are paying for the live-in nurse to help her during the week,' she said. 'That's an additional expense that we need to have for her so that she's not bending over.' The tax applies to anyone in the U.S. who sends remittances to their home countries. In 2023, remittances from the U.S. totaled $98 billion, according to the World Bank. Chrys contributes to the $56 billion in remittances sub-Saharan Africa received from people around the world last year. In fact, she said she regularly remits cash — more than 50 times a year — to family and friends. The Center for Global Development, a nonpartisan think tank that focuses on reducing global poverty through economic research, published an analysis last month that listed the tax as yet another financial setback for many nations, given the recent reduction in American aid. Liberia is highly dependent on foreign aid as well as remittances. In 2023, the U.S. accounted for a quarter of the country's foreign aid, and remittances surpassed Liberia's bilateral foreign aid by three times, according to the report. The African Union's outgoing ambassador to the United States, Hilda Suka-Mafudze, said hindering such funding 'threatens to reverse gains in financial inclusion and development across the continent of Africa.' Witney Schneidman, a nonresident senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development program, said, 'To put this tax on is just a further constraint on the U.S. effort to work with our partners on the continent.' 'It's not transformational. ... It's just another obstacle to partnership, and it's another obstacle to development,' he said. Schneidman, who also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Clinton administration, condemned the Trump administration for building barriers and not bridges. 'When you add it up with the visa blockages, with the end of the [African Growth and Opportunity Act] AGOA, with the end of USAID, it's just building a wall,' he said. 'The U.S. is building a wall between itself and the world and certainly between itself and Africa.' Suka-Mafudze, whose focus will turn toward the Southern African Development Community region, said that beyond hurting diplomatic ties, blocking remittances is also 'a human issue, because diaspora remittances are lifelines for millions of African families and these remittances often cover essentials, which are food, school fees, medical care and a lot of things. And to impose a tax on that is deeply unjust.' Chrys said the financial burden of sending money home is already heavy, with some stretching limited resources to make ends meet. 'Some people are not making as much to be able to try to support their family back home,' Chrys said. 'When I do get a chance to send money home, sometimes I'm spending it from my refund check.' Democratic Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida and Jonathan L. Jackson of Illinois introduced new legislation called the African Diaspora Investment and Development Act, or AIDA, aimed at reversing the tax's impact. It would also create more transparency in money transfers, among other things. Suka-Mafudze backs the legislation, warning the new tax 'could push people toward informal or unregulated channels, making transactions riskier and less transparent.' Cherfilus-McCormick, the only Haitian American member of Congress right now, warns that a remittance tax would unfairly burden families already struggling to support their loved ones overseas. 'I strongly oppose any effort to tax remittances and will continue fighting for policies that protect immigrant and diaspora communities,' she said in a statement. 'H.R.4586 — AIDA intends to reverse course and instead focus on incentivizing and leveraging on the nearly 100 billion of dollars that Haitian, African and Caribbean Americans send home each year to build sustainable partnerships and strengthen economic development.' Schneidman said the tax has the potential to impact education, health care and families because the bulk of the remittances are family-to-family. That reality is felt most by those sending the money, who see firsthand how even small amounts can make a big difference. 'In the U.S., it might feel like, 'Oh, that's nothing.'' Chrys said. But in Nigeria, 'It's everything because every little money counts.'
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Despite federal cuts to higher ed, Mass. free community college presses on, transforming students' lives
'Whenever I thought about going back to school, I knew that if, for some reason, I got overwhelmed with work and couldn't go to school, I'd accrue that debt,' Hannigan, 43, told the Globe. 'It's one of the things that dissuaded me from going to school again.' Advertisement Hannigan is now president of the Greenfield Community College student senate, president of the college's permaculture club, and two classes short of graduating with a degree in farm and food systems. With straight As, he hopes to transfer to a four-year college next year. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up His turnaround is thanks to a program called MassReconnect, which launched in 2022, offering free community college to state residents over age 25 who don't have a bachelor's degree. It is the precursor to the state's MassEducate program, which started a year later, offering free community college to all residents. Early data suggest Massachusetts' experiment with free community college has been successful. Enrollment has shot up by Advertisement But while state funding for the programs is ensured for next year, federal cuts to higher education put the long-term feasibility of the program on shaky ground. Many students say their lives have been changed by free community college. 'If it wasn't for free community college, I'd just be working some manual labor job at UMass right now, not even thinking about college,' Hannigan said. Pedro Rentas also didn't see college in his future. When he moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic, he heard friends and family complaining about student loans. 'I was like, 'I'm going to avoid that one,'' he said. But when he heard about MassReconnect, he enrolled the same day. Rentas tore through school, finishing in a year and a half. Immediately after graduating, he applied for a position as a branch manager for Reading Cooperative Bank in Lawrence. His associate's degree came up in the interview; he cinched the job. Today, his salary is nearly double what it was before college. This fall, he's enrolling in the University of Massachusetts Lowell to pursue his bachelor's degree in criminology, with a long-term plan to become an immigration lawyer. But many community college students still face barriers. The state will only pay what's left after a student uses up other financial aid. Since low-income students— many of whom are students of color — already depend on aid like Pell Grants, they're the least likely to benefit from these new programs. That may explain why, according to state data, MassEducate students are more likely to be white and less likely to be Black, African-American, Hispanic, or Latino compared with the overall student population. Advertisement Additionally, the programs cover only tuition and fees. Those costs make up just While the state offers a $1,200 living stipend for low-income students and up to $1,200 for books and other supplies, that still falls short of the roughly 'I've heard stories of students living in shelters, in friends' attics, or in other unstable housing just to stay in school,' Hannigan said. 'So even with tuition, fees, and books covered, college still isn't accessible for everyone.' Bahar Akman, managing director of the Hildreth Institute, a Boston-based higher education research group, says that students who don't have additional financial support need to work more hours while in school, 'negatively [impacting] their ability to attend full-time and increase the likelihood of [dropping] out before completion.' It may become more difficult for the highest-need students to find additional support as the Trump administration seeks deeper federal funding cuts. Already, a statewide program to provide wraparound services will receive $700,000 less for the next fiscal year. The cascading effects of other federal cuts, particularly to Medicaid and food assistance, may mean that state lawmakers will eventually be forced to use discretionary funding meant for free community college to cover costs of other social programs. 'While this is a great program for students, it's coming at a time when we are getting this onslaught of federal garbage that is putting the colleges in this tough situation,' said Claudine Barnes, president of the Massachusetts Community College Council and professor of history at Cape Cod Community College. She's already seen cuts to programs that mention DEI. 'At community colleges where we have such a diverse student body, using that to cut funding for the neediest of students is just appalling.' Advertisement Core funding for free community college is safe — for now. In the latest fiscal budget, the Legislature allocated $120 million to fund both programs for the next year. 'We're proud that in a challenging budget year, Massachusetts was able to continue funding one of the most comprehensive free community college programs in the country,' said Noe Ortega, the state commissioner of Higher Education. To address students' unmet needs, schools across the state have begun opening food banks to support the In percent said improved access to food reduced their depression and anxiety. In 2022, Massachusetts launched the Hunger-Free Campus Initiative, which supports food security efforts. The Legislature is now considering Kiara Rosario, a single mother, relied on food support from Roxbury Community College to get through a degree in psychology. She helped to set up the Rox Box, the school's food bank, to assist other students in need. Without state and federal aid, Rosario said she would not have been able to attend college. And without more tailored, individual support from RCC — such as gas cards and a work-study job — she would not have been able to stay enrolled. Advertisement Now graduated, she's hoping to finish her bachelor's in psychology at Boston College, and then to become a social worker. For inspiration, she holds onto how she felt a few years ago, when free community college was first announced. At the time, she was on a Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges advisory committee, which helped to design and implement the program. She was worried the state wouldn't be supportive. 'I had the perspective that the wealthy usually win, so I thought they would go against it,' she said. When it was approved, 'I couldn't believe it, it was our dream. I couldn't believe they were really listening to us.' This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Mara Kardas-Nelson can be reached at
