Nigeria’s national identification document has been identified as the 9th most targeted on the African continent, according to the 2024 Digital Identity Fraud in Africa Report by Smile ID, an identity verification startup.
The report, released this week, sheds light on the escalating threats faced by national ID cards across the continent, with South Africa’s national ID taking the lead as the most attacked, experiencing a 34% fraud attempt rate.
Tanzania’s national ID closely followed with a 32% attempted fraud rate, while Kenya secured the third spot at 26%.
Nigeria, with an 18% attempted fraud rate, found itself in the 9th position on the list of most attacked national ID cards.
The report emphasizes that in the last two years, an overwhelming 80% of all document fraud attacks were directed at national ID cards.
Remarkably, 11 out of the top 19 most attacked document types were identified as national IDs.
The preference for targeting national ID cards among fraudsters is attributed to two key factors. Firstly, in many countries, the national ID is the most prevalent and mandatory form of government identification for adults.
Secondly, with an increasing number of national ID documents in circulation, the likelihood of these cards being lost or stolen rises annually, thereby exposing holders to potential document fraud.
Experts suggest that this revelation calls for urgent attention to enhance the security measures surrounding national ID cards.
”Strengthening safeguards and implementing advanced verification methods could prove crucial in curbing identity fraud and protecting individuals from the repercussions of document-related crimes,” an expert quoted in the report said.
