Digital fraud is nothing new; it's been a problem since the early days of the internet. The problem has historically been focused on markets like North America and Europe. That may be changing, though.

A recently released report from transaction monitoring firm Sumsub points to an alarming increase in fraudulent activity within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Their 2024 Identity Fraud Report reveals that, between 2023 and 2024, the APAC region experienced a 121% increase in the number of verified identity fraud attacks.

Instances of identity fraud rose most precipitously in Singapore; the city-state witnessed a 207% increase in attacks compared to the previous year. Thailand recorded a year-over-year increase of 206%, while Indonesia saw the incidence of identity fraud grow by 201%.

According to the study, fake document scams were the most common form of identity fraud in the APAC region, accounting for 50% of all attacks. Other frequently observed tactics in the region include chargeback scams (15% of fraud attacks), account takeovers (12%), deepfakes (7%) and fraud networks (4%).

Of course, these figures need some context. Examining fraud rates as a percentage of all........

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