Fraudsters are gaining ground in Asia-Pacific, where the region’s overall fraud protection has slipped to fourth place worldwide, according to the 2025 Global Fraud Index released by verification firm Sumsub in partnership with Statista and the Digital Assets Association (DAA) Singapore.
The study assessed 112 countries to measure how effectively governments, regulators, and businesses are combating fraud. It found that Europe remains the safest region overall, followed by the Middle East and the Americas, while Africa continues to lag behind. In Asia-Pacific, only a few economies – notably New Zealand and Thailand – improved their performance. New Zealand climbed from 12th to 7th place globally, while Thailand jumped 25 spots to 33rd. Others suffered steep drops as digital expansion outpaced fraud prevention infrastructure.
“Fraud protection isn’t about geography, it’s about governance. At the same time, fraudsters are getting their hands on increasingly powerful AI tools. What was once a niche threat has become commonplace,” said Timothy Owens, senior research lead for technology and telecommunications at Statista.
Singapore’s case reflects both progress and vulnerability. Although it fell from first to tenth place overall, it now ranks first globally in government intervention, ahead of Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and the Netherlands.
However, the report suggests that even advanced markets are struggling to balance innovation with fraud resilience. Japan slipped 15 places to 28th, Indonesia dropped to 111th, and Malaysia fell dramatically from 34th to 86th. Pakistan remains at the bottom for the second consecutive year.
“The marked decline in rankings for key APAC hubs like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia highlights a pressing need for a unified response to the growing threat of sophisticated fraud,” said Chia Hock Lai, co-chairman of the Digital Assets Association.
He added that the association would expand collaboration with government bodies and technology providers to strengthen anti-fraud infrastructure and improve access to know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering tools.
Sumsub vice president for APAC Penny Chai said the findings show the challenges faced by the region’s fast-growing digital economies, where innovation is outpacing fraud safeguards: “Effective government intervention and public-private collaboration are critical to ensuring these markets remain secure and resilient.”
The 2025 edition of the Global Fraud Index expands its coverage to nine new countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria. It combines Sumsub’s internal verification data with research from the World Bank, Transparency International, and Oxford Insights to map the scale of fraud exposure and the effectiveness of national responses.
