Global verification and anti-fraud provider Sumsub has released the second edition of its Global Fraud Index, conducted in partnership with Statista and CryptoUK.
The index focuses on fraud trends across 112 countries and aims to support regulatory bodies, governments, and businesses in understanding and mitigating fraud. According to Sumsub, institutions across Europe are starting to address the limitations of traditional fraud defences during a period when AI risks are scaling and deepfakes and synthetic identity document fraud become more important.
Statista highlighted that the second edition of the Global Fraud Index reveals that fraud protection is not about geography, but about governance. When it comes to technology providers, they need to see fraud exposure similar to how they view system uptime, as it requires continuous monitoring. Additionally, verification systems, information sharing between organisations, and incident response are not optional, but a fundamental component of operating in the current digital environment.
Key findings
Among the most important findings of the 2025 Global Fraud Index, Sumsub emphasises:
- The top 15 countries that are highly safeguarded against digital fraud include: Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, Austria, Singapore, Slovenia, Israel, Malta, Lithuania, and Australia.
- At the other end, the 15 countries that are least protected against digital fraud include: Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, Tanzania, Uganda, Bangladesh, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Brazil, Armenia, Kenya, and Colombia.
- The UK’s fraud readiness decreased by 6 positions, positioning the country at 47 compared to 41 in 2024. Additionally, fraud vulnerability in the region was mostly driven by declining economic health, and the UK government’s intervention on fraud has weakened. However, Sumsub mentions that the Online Safety Act represents a step in the right direction.
- France was also among the countries that witnessed a decline in economic health, with the country being in position 32 in 2025 compared to position 15 in 2024. On the other hand, resource accessibility increased, with France placing 16 in 2025 compared to 21 in 2024.
- The US dropped by 36 positions, from 55 to 91. Also, the US has the highest government AI readiness index across the world.
Furthermore, to keep the public, industry participants, and government officials informed about evolving fraud trends across sectors, including fintech, crypto, iGaming, EdTech, and online dating, Sumsub releases an annual whitepaper based on its research.
