This milestone has revealed significant shifts in fraud patterns, signaling the obsolescence of traditional KYC checkpoint models.
IDSmile announced that it has surpassed 400 million identity verifications, with half of that volume processed in 2025 alone. This milestone has revealed significant shifts in fraud patterns, signaling the obsolescence of traditional KYC checkpoint models.
According to the company, attackers are moving away from creating fake accounts and are increasingly targeting already-verified users during high-value interactions such as login, re-authentication, password resets, device changes, and high-value withdrawals or limit increases.
In West Africa, retail banking platforms have seen a 50% year-on-year increase in fraud attempts, primarily driven by authentication and account recovery flows, rather than new account signups.
IDSmile emphasizes that most platforms verify identities only once at onboarding, assuming indefinite trust afterward. However, as fraud concentrates at critical post-onboarding moments, this approach is proving inadequate, highlighting the need for continuous identity verification and stronger authentication measures.
This insight underlines the importance of rethinking KYC models in financial services and other high-risk sectors to prevent sophisticated fraud targeting verified users.
