Nigeria and Ghana have been listed as leading countries in West Africa for identity fraud.

The 2024 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report, by Smile ID, a leading identity verification startup, in West Africa, said most fraudulent documents were spotted because of failed security features, indicating a significant presence of counterfeit ID documents.

It noted that the high occurrence of counterfeits suggests that fraudsters are exploring weaknesses in the ID document design.

Reviewing developments around identity management on the continent, due to the broad adoption of digital and biometric ID verification, the report observed that identity fraud is a growing problem across Africa, costing businesses millions yearly. It stressed that as more financial transactions and commerce move online, verification of identities is paramount to reduce deception and criminal activities.

While noting that in Nigeria, the use of physical documents is less common, the 63-page document pointed out that Ghanaian ID documents were discovered to have a higher fraud rate.

According to it, most attacked ID documents in Nigeria are National ID with 0.1 per cent volume and 18 per cent fraud rate and Voter ID, with three per cent volume and 12 per cent fraud rate.

The report observed that the Ghanaian Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), in particular, has the highest fraud attempt rate (20 per cent). It, however, noted that the SSNIT is an old ID document being phased out in favour of the newer Ghana card, which has advanced security features and a lower fraud rate.

According to the report, out of the top five most attacked ID documents in the East African region, four are national IDs and Kenya’s ID has the highest rate of fraud in the region.

“There are several contributing factors, one of which is the continued prevalence of old National ID cards, which are constructed of black and white paper images, laminated in plastic. The newer Huduma Namba cards have faced several challenges to adoption, beginning with opposition in the courts to how the data were collected. The current government in Kenya has announced more investment in, and consolidation of, existing ID systems in 2024,” it said.

Smile ID further informed that Nigerian National Identity document is one of the most-attacked documents by fraudsters wanting to clone IDs. Out of the country’s surveyed, Nigeria’s ID ranked 9^th in Africa.

The report said National ID cards of African countries have seen a surge in attacks over the last two years. It showed that in 2023, South Africa’s National ID had the highest rate of fraud attempts at 34 per cent, thus ranked number one.

Tanzania’s National ID emerged as the second most attacked with a 32 per cent attempted fraud rate, while Kenya’s National ID ranked third at 26 per cent. Nigeria recorded an 18 per cent attempted fraud rate to rank ninth.

On fraud prevention, the report advised that while regulatory compliance is the bedrock, it should only be treated as a minimum requirement, adding that businesses must go over and beyond regulatory requirements to protect integrity of their products. (The Guardian)

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