A recent report from Africa’s identity verification startup, Smile ID, has revealed that Nigeria’s national identification document holds the 9th position among the most targeted documents by fraudsters on the African continent.
The 2024 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report highlights a significant increase in attacks on national ID cards across African countries in the past two years.
South Africa’s national ID card took the lead in 2023 with the highest percentage of fraud attempts at 34%, securing the top spot.
Tanzania’s national ID followed closely as the second most attacked, with a 32% attempted fraud rate, while Kenya’s national ID claimed the third spot with a 26% attempted fraud rate.
Nigeria’s national ID recorded an 18% attempted fraud rate, ranking it 9th on the continent.
The report emphasizes that national ID cards have become the primary target for fraud attacks, constituting 80% of all document fraud attempts in the last two years.
Out of the top 19 most attacked document types, 11 were identified as national IDs.
This preference for national ID cards by fraudsters is attributed to their widespread use as the primary government identification in most countries, mandatory for the majority of adults.
With an increasing number of national ID documents in circulation, the report highlights the heightened risk of loss or theft, exposing holders to potential document fraud.