There is an alarming amount of identity fraud in South africa, with an estimated R1bn yearly lost to various companies and organisations. In the Turnaround effort of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the matter is taken increasingly seriously, and it is for this reason that the DHA has initiated a dialogue with various private companies, organisations and government departments in a multi-stakeholder workshop to share the challenges and discuss joint solutions to root out this problem. Representatives from more than 20 organisations attended the ID fraud workshop on 13 August 2008 in Pretoria. The workshop was facilitated by The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), which has an objective to combat white collar crime. Representatives, including a number of ACFE members who are highly skilled forensic professionals, participated in dialogue where views and potential solutions were discussed.

A combined workshop facilitated by the ACFE, a non profit professional organization who is at the forefront of combating fraud and corruption and provides ongoing assistance and support to the DHA, saw multi stakeholders meeting to discuss commonly faced problems and solutions thereto. This multi-stakeholder meeting was attended by representatives of various organizations affected by identity fraud, such as SABRIC, South African Insurance Association (SAIA - ICB), Consumer Goods Council, Life Officers Association (LOA), Department of Health and TransUnion ITC. In total, the meeting was comprised of 43 representatives from the various organizations, all committed to actively rooting out ID fraud.

One of the key outcomes of the workshop was recognising that to effectively fight identity fraud, the organisations in the private and government sphere must cooperate more closely and support each other. The workshop laid a foundation for such ongoing cooperation

"The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) South African Chapter, will continue to facilitate partnerships between government and private enterprises as this is the only way we can collectively address fraud risk within our country" says Jaco de Jager, Chief Executive Officer of the ACFE (SA). He adds "Our extensive membership holds huge benefit in terms of expertise, and the participation of our members in these initiatives will help our country combat fraud effectively. We furthermore thank the Department of Home Affairs for involving the ACFE in such an important task and realise that they are actively pursuing the same goal of fighting fraud."


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