Asia-Pacific’s fintech and health tech industries are seeing significant increases in fraud cases, aligning with their rapid digital expansion.
A report by Sumsub, a verification and fraud prevention technology company, outlined how both sectors have become central targets of AI-enhanced fraudulent activities, including identity spoofing and synthetic documentation.
Health tech, in particular, showed a year-on-year increase of 723% in fraud incidents in the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025) – marking the sharpest growth among all sectors tracked.
Fintech followed with a 116% increase over the same period.
These developments come as fintech in the region is forecast to grow from US$450 billion in 2024 to over US$1 trillion by 2032. The digital health market is also expected to expand significantly, with projections reaching nearly US$488.5 billion by 2033.
The surge in fraud is attributed to the use of generative AI tools that allow threat actors to construct false identities and manipulate media for malicious purposes. These technologies are being used to forge documents and bypass standard digital verification protocols, especially in systems relying heavily on remote onboarding.
In Singapore and Hong Kong SAR, reported cases involving deepfake technology increased by 1,500% and 1,900%, respectively, between 2024 and 2025.
Synthetic identity fraud – a tactic where attackers mix genuine data such as national ID numbers with fabricated details – has become more prevalent in KYC checks for both financial and health-related platforms.
Sumsub recorded a 233% regional rise in synthetic ID fraud year-over-year, surpassing the global average increase of 195%. Country-specific spikes included:
Penny Chai, vice president for Asia-Pacific at Sumsub, said fraud linked to fintech is an ongoing issue, but the sharp rise in health tech pointed to a broader risk affecting newer digital verticals.
“While fintech fraud is a familiar battleground, given the sector’s long standing exposure to financial crime and its evolution alongside crypto, the scale of fraud in health tech signals a worrying new frontier. As more healthcare services go digital, the sector’s vulnerabilities are being exploited at pace, putting trust in the digital health system at serious risk,” she said.
A substantial increase in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on financial firms across Asia-Pacific was reported in 2024, with the region accounting for 38% of global volumetric DDoS events, according to research jointly conducted by FS-ISAC and Akamai Technologies.
Their study, titled “From Nuisance to Strategic Threat,” noted that APAC’s share in such attacks has tripled since 2023, when it comprised just 11% of global activity.
Over 20 institutions in six regional markets were reportedly affected by a coordinated campaign, suspected to have been orchestrated by a single actor using advanced tactics.
While traditional DDoS methods often involve overwhelming network capacity, the study found a 23% increase in application-layer attacks, which focus on disabling API endpoints and online platforms critical to customer access and operations.
Analysts also observed greater use of for-hire attack services sourced via dark web marketplaces, enabling attackers to obscure their identity and motives.
The broader cybersecurity challenges have also elevated concerns about brand and reputational risk.
A global study by WTW revealed that 65% of executives identified cyber threats as their most significant reputational risk in 2024 – up from 52% in the previous year.
Despite this, only 11% felt confident in their ability to accurately quantify the financial impact of a reputational incident.
Most firms reported having crisis management frameworks and dedicated budgets, although experts emphasised that evolving threat profiles require frequent reassessment of response capabilities and risk modelling tools.
