Sumsub Data Shows Surge in Deepfakes in the Middle East and in Countries With 2024 Elections

Sumsub shares Q1 data for identity fraud and deepfakes worldwide, showcasing alarming YoY trends in the crypto and fintech sectors, as well as AI-powered scams

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — With half the world’s population heading to the polls this year, Sumsub, a global full-cycle verification provider, detected upwards of a 245% YoY increase in deepfakes worldwide. The findings show growth in deepfake incidents across regions with 2024 elections, including the US, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa.

Deepfake Growth in the 2024 Election Year

“Performing millions of identity checks annually and preventing thousands of deepfake attempts across all markets, we believe these trends are not unique to B2B / B2C markets. They are symptomatic of what’s happening in the wider digital world. These insights don’t just apply to businesses but are also a key demonstration of the need to continue fighting misinformation, the spread of AI-generated scams, and online fraud threatening society,” said Vyacheslav Zholudev, Co-founder and CTO of Sumsub.

Key highlights from Sumsub’s Q1 2024 verification and identity fraud data* show that:

Countries with the most deepfakes detected in Q1 2024 are China, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, the US, Vietnam, and the UK.
In Q1 of 2024, the number of deepfakes soared YoY in Iraq (900%), Saudi Arabia (600%), Iran (350%), Israel (250%), Kuwait, and Yemen (200%), and in the UAE (14%).
There’s noticeable growth of deepfake incidents YoY in countries where elections are planned for 2024: India (280%), the US (303%), South Africa (500%), Mexico (500%), Moldova (900%), Indonesia (1550%), and South Korea (1625%). In the EU (where European Parliament elections are set for June), many countries experienced deepfake cases increase YoY: this includes Bulgaria (3000%), Portugal (1700%), Belgium (800%), Spain (191%), Germany (142%), and France (97%).
Even in countries with no elections in 2024, deepfake scams are advancing at unprecedented rates YoY: this includes China (2800%), Turkey (1533%), Singapore (1100%), Hong Kong (1000%), Brazil (822%), Vietnam (541%), Ukraine (394%)** and Japan (243%).
While AI fraud grew in most places, there were some countries holding elections in 2024 where the number of deepfake incidents decreased YoY: this includes the UK (-10%), Croatia (-33%), Ireland (-40%), and Lithuania (-44%).

The growth of deepfake incidents can be seen across different industries. Last quarter, the sectors with the most deepfakes were crypto, fintech and iGaming. If we look closer at the year-over-year (YoY) comparison, the quantity of deepfake cases soared 1520% in iGaming, 900% in marketplaces, 533% in fintech, 217% in crypto, 138% in consulting, and 68% in online media.

“The number and quality of deepfakes is increasing and evolving daily worldwide. Even with the most progressive technology, it’s getting much harder to differentiate between a deepfake and reality. The only way forward is to fight AI with AI. For businesses, the ultimate tool that keeps them protected is a multi-layered anti-fraud solution with different checks at various user journey stages. But content platforms and common users remain vulnerable to deepfakes, especially in light of the 2024 elections. Media platforms must stay vigilant, remaining aware and updating defenses to detect deepfakes and prevent AI-generated fraud. They need to make sure they are not inadvertently contributing to the spread of misinformation,” said Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Head of AI/ML at Sumsub.

Sumsub also analyzed broader identity fraud data gathered in Q1 2024 for countries in the Middle East, with the most striking data being:

Countries with the most deepfakes detected in Q1 2024 are China, Spain, Germany, Ukraine, the US, Vietnam, and the UK.
In Q1 of 2024, the number of deepfakes soared YoY in Iraq (900%), Saudi Arabia (600%), Iran (350%), Israel (250%), Kuwait, and Yemen (200%), and in the UAE (14%).
There’s noticeable growth of deepfake incidents YoY in countries where elections are planned for 2024: India (280%), the US (303%), South Africa (500%), Mexico (500%), Moldova (900%), Indonesia (1550%), and South Korea (1625%). In the EU (where European Parliament elections are set for June), many countries experienced deepfake cases increase YoY: this includes Bulgaria (3000%), Portugal (1700%), Belgium (800%), Spain (191%), Germany (142%), and France (97%).
Even in countries with no elections in 2024, deepfake scams are advancing at unprecedented rates YoY: this includes China (2800%), Turkey (1533%), Singapore (1100%), Hong Kong (1000%), Brazil (822%), Vietnam (541%), Ukraine (394%)** and Japan (243%).
While AI fraud grew in most places, there were some countries holding elections in 2024 where the number of deepfake incidents decreased YoY: this includes the UK (-10%), Croatia (-33%), Ireland (-40%), and Lithuania (-44%).

To stay informed on the most up-to-date deepfakes and identity fraud trends as well as corporate news and product updates, please follow Sumsub’s Newsroom. To download the company’s whitepapers for free, please visit https://sumsub.com/guides-reports/

* Note on the source

The content of this press release is based on detailed statistics and analysis of millions of verification checks performed by the Sumsub platform from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024, accurately highlighting current fraud incidence rates. This includes analysis of thousands of detected deepfake cases. All internal data was aggregated and anonymized for the purpose of publishing these findings.

** Please note that Ukraine’s 2024 elections are suspended due to martial law restrictions (at the moment of publication).

About Sumsub

Sumsub is a full-cycle verification platform that secures the whole user journey. With Sumsub’s customizable KYC, KYB, Transaction Monitoring and Fraud Prevention solutions, you can orchestrate your verification process, welcome more customers worldwide, meet compliance requirements, reduce costs, and protect your business.

Sumsub has over 2,000 clients across the fintech, crypto, transportation, trading, e-commerce and gaming industries including Bitpanda, Wirex, Avis, Bybit, Huobi, Kaizen Gaming, and TransferGo.