Sumsub has revealed its first global fraud index showcasing 103 countries’ susceptibility to digital fraud.
To assist regulatory bodies, governments and businesses in understanding and preventing digital fraud, Regtech company Sumsub shares an interactive world map
Regtech Sumsub, a verification platform, releases the Global Fraud Index – the study of digital fraud across 103 countries.
The Index analyses internal ID verification data alongside external contributing factors to illustrate the “risk and impact of fraud – nation by nation.”
Until now, no extensive analysis of the fraud index existed, despite digital fraud posing a “substantial” threat to the financial sector.
According to a Juniper Research forecast, losses from online payment fraud will “exceed $362 billion between 2023 to 2028.”
The Global Fraud Index reveals the factors driving fraud to provide actionable insights which can empower governments to implement measures that work, especially in “regions facing elevated risks.”
Each country is given a rating – based on the analysis of millions of ID verifications from Sumsub’s platform from 2023 to 2024, alongside the ‘Fraud Triangle’, which considers the accessibility of digital resources, the efficiency of regulation and intervention, and the economic instability of a given nation.
Fraud Index score of the ten biggest economies in Europe, from most to least at risk:
- Turkey: 4.05
- Poland: 2.72
- Spain: 2.39
- UK: 2.35
- Germany 2.07
- Italy: 2:05
- France: 2.04
- Ireland: 0.85
- Netherlands: 0.71
- Switzerland: 0.09
Global highlights:
- EMEA has the fastest access to all the necessary KYC/AML services.
- Top-10 countries most protected against digital fraud are: Singapore, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Ireland and Lithuania.
- Some countries least protected against digital fraud are: Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Argentina, Ukraine, Brazil
- The U.S. has the highest government AI readiness index across the globe.
- Singapore takes the highest spot in the Global Fraud Index, holding top-5 positions in economic wealth, resource accessibility and government intervention.
- The Nordic countries show the highest e-government services availability.
- Countries with a GDP per Capita of less than US $25,000 are showing higher rates of fraud activity on average, when compared with countries with GDP exceeding US $25,000.
Andrew Sever, CEO and co-founder of Sumsub said that building on the recognition of our previous findings “by experts at INTERPOL and UNODC, we are launching The Global Fraud Index to further advance the digital fraud awareness agenda.”
They added that the Index highlights the need for stronger collaboration among “businesses, governments, and regulators while addressing the challenge of unnecessary digital exclusion. By helping businesses avoid unintended exclusion through advanced solutions like Non-Doc verification, Sumsub fosters a fairer and more inclusive financial ecosystem.”
Research methodology:
The Global Fraud Index reportedly uses internal and external data.
Sumsub’s internal data is based on volumes of “over 1 million checks conducted daily on the platform.”
The majority of data is from 2023-2024, with a “few indicators relying on slightly older data.”
External sources include The World Bank, The Heritage Foundation, Oxford Insights, Transparency International, Numbeo.
The Index consists of 4 main pillars of analysis for each country.
Those include not only the country’s “fraud rate itself, but also incorporate ‘The Fraud Triangle’ hypothesis.”
This model reflects how certain factors – namely, ‘pressure, opportunity, and rationalization – contribute to higher fraud rates and corruption.’
In digital fraud, this triangle manifests via lower digital resources accessibility, less efficient government intervention, and “higher economic instability scores.”
