APAC’s Deepfake Explosion: How Biometric Spoofing Is Turning the Region Into Ground Zero for Identity Fraud

A Digital Wildfire Across APAC

APAC is moving at an extraordinary pace, with over 70% of new digital banking customers globally now coming from the region most onboarding fully online using facial scans, voice verification and selfie-based KYC.

But fraud is evolving faster.

Deepfake-driven fraud attempts rose by over 1,500% worldwide between 2022 and 2024, with APAC emerging as a major proving ground due to insufficient endpoint protection. As these threats continue to emerge in real time, Global E-Director leverages SentryBay’s Armored Client for IGEL to strengthen endpoint security blocking video and audio capture at the operating system level and preventing malware from harvesting data that could be used to create and train deepfake attacks.

Why APAC Is the Perfect Storm for Identity Fraud

Rapid Digital Adoption Backed by Numbers

APAC’s digital acceleration is unmatched:

Metric	APAC Snapshot
Smartphone penetration	75%+ in urban markets
Digital banking users	1.3+ billion
Remote onboarding growth	3× since 2020
Biometric-based KYC usage	Over 80% of fintechs

This speed leaves little room for security maturity.

AI Tool Accessibility and Falling Costs

What once required advanced expertise now costs less than a cup of coffee. Deepfake tools capable of cloning voices or generating videos are available for under $10 per month.

Criminals don’t need elite skills anymore, just data.

High-Value Targets Across Industries

From instant loans to crypto wallets, APAC’s digital economy offers fast payouts and weak cross-border enforcement, an irresistible combination.

Understanding AI Generated Deepfakes

What Are AI Generated Deepfakes?

AI generated deepfakes are synthetic media created using machine learning models that replicate real people’s faces, voices or behaviors. Unlike traditional fraud, these attacks don’t steal credentials, they become the victim.

Audio, Video and Synthetic Identity Trends

• Audio deepfakes dominate call-center fraud

• Video deepfakes target selfie-based onboarding

• Synthetic identities exploit weak data validation systems

Biometric Spoofing: When Trust Becomes a Weakness

How Biometric Systems Are Being Exploited

Biometrics were designed to stop impersonation not digital replication. That’s the fatal flaw.

Most Common Biometric Spoofing Methods

Attack Type	How It Works	Risk Level
Face injection	AI video fed directly into camera API	High
Voice cloning	AI-generated speech passes IVR checks	High
Replay attacks	Recorded biometrics reused	Medium

Face, Voice and Replay Attacks

In one APAC fintech case, attackers used AI-generated video to open hundreds of mule accounts within days, bypassing facial liveness checks completely.

Why Traditional Identity Security Is Breaking Down

Limitations of Passwords and One-Time Verification

Passwords fail because people reuse them. Biometrics fail because they can be copied. One-time checks fail because fraud is continuous.

Real-World Failure Examples

• Deepfake CFO voice scams caused multi-million-dollar losses in regional enterprises

• Fake video KYC attacks enabled instant loan fraud rings

• Government subsidy portals were hit using synthetic identities

Zero Trust Identity: A Practical Defense Model

Zero Trust Explained With Examples

Zero trust identity means no login is final. Every action is evaluated in real time.

Example:

• Login approved 

• Unusual device behavior 

• Access revoked automatically

Key Zero Trust Identity Controls

Control	Purpose
Continuous authentication	Detects mid-session fraud
Behavioral biometrics	Hard to fake human patterns
Device intelligence	Flags emulators and bots

Continuous and Contextual Verification

Deepfakes can fool a camera but not long-term behavior.

Industry Impact Across APAC

Banking and Fintech

• Fraud losses increased 30–40% year-on-year

• Mule account creation surged using biometric spoofing

E-Commerce and Marketplaces

• Fake seller accounts

• Refund abuse using synthetic identities

Government and Public Services

• Welfare fraud

• Fake digital IDs used for benefits

How Organizations Can Respond Effectively

Technology, Policy and Training

Security is not just tools, it's people and processes.

AI vs AI Detection Strategies

Defense Layer	Benefit
Deepfake detection models	Identify synthetic media
Behavioral analytics	Spot non-human patterns
Zero trust enforcement	Reduce blast radius

What Individuals Need to Know

• Avoid oversharing voice and video online

• Be skeptical of urgent verification requests

• Use platforms with layered identity security

Your face is public. Your behavior is not.

The Road Ahead for Identity Security in APAC

The future isn’t about stronger locks, it's about smarter systems. Identity is shifting from static proof to dynamic trust scoring.

APAC’s digital success story is undeniable, but so is the threat growing alongside it. AI-generated deepfakes and biometric spoofing are rapidly rewriting the rules of fraud.

The organizations that endure won’t simply be the fastest adopters. They’ll be the ones that embrace zero-trust identity before trust itself becomes the next casualty, an approach already being reinforced by Global E-Director, serving the MENA region, through the deployment of SentryBay’s Armored Client for IGEL to strengthen endpoint and identity protection.