South African citizens are encouraged to switch to smart ID cards
Despite replacing the green barcoded ID book with a more modern and enhanced smart ID card over ten years ago, the government has not yet fully phased it out. According to Home Affairs officials, no announcement on the former’s ultimate retirement date has been made.
The department claims that many South Africans still possess the green ID book, which is a recognized document under the law. But according to security experts, a Smile ID study revealed that South African ID fraud is the most common on the continent, which means the government should stop using green barcoded IDs. Citizens and permanent residents over 16 are required to have the green barcoded ID book.
However, because of its extreme susceptibility to fraud and theft, smart IDs have taken its place. They are said to be five times less likely to be exploited for fraud than the green book, and the roll-out started in July 2013. Since the deployment, more than 21 million cards have been distributed. False documents, money mulling, and identity fraud all significantly increased, according to fraud data. Sixty percent of these occurrences occurred in Gauteng. Western Cape recorded 8% and KwaZulu-Natal 17%.
“It is important for govt to discontinue green barcoded ID books. We are number one in Africa, we, meaning South Africa are number one in identity document fraud. It is important for SA to be able to deal effectively with the crime of fraud that you ensure that you use technology for verification that has biometrics amongst other things so that you can then be able to, when you go to store, that ID can be scanned. I am assuming and know that it will be connected to the Home Affairs national identification system. It will be able to bring up your face as well as all the other biometrics that are being loaded onto the smart card,” says Andy Mashaile, security strategist.
Experts argue that since fraudsters are increasingly using biometric fraud, security needs to be tightened.
“80% of the identity fraud attacks happened just towards the end of 2023. Is there a new technology that can be used to enhance the security of the digital ID? Yes, by March 2024 government had indicated that there was going to be a digital identity that was going to be made available to all people in SA so that we can then be able to identify people be them South Africans, be them people of foreign region, so that we can then be able to have everyone else on the data base for identity purposes, also linking it with the SADC systems. There are 500 million people in Africa who don’t have valid forms of verification and it is against this background that for us to be able as a country to stem the tide of fraud and to ensure that people don’t steal other people’s identities, we migrate from the green barcoded ID book to smart IDs,” Mashaile adds.
Mashaile has cautioned those who continue to use the green barcoded ID book to always keep a close eye on its location and to look through accounts and bills carefully.
When asked about the phase-out of the old type of identity, Home Affairs authorities were only able to say that they haven’t released any information regarding when they will be retiring.
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CPI Support Team