People with green ID books in South Africa beware

South Africa’s green ID book has come under increasing scrutiny for its security flaws and the likelihood that a holder of the barcoded book could have their identity stolen or hijacked. 

Often, stolen identities are used to access credit, loans, or apply for higher education, creating significant headaches for the rightful holder of the ID. 

This has led the Department of Home Affairs to launch a crusade to eliminate the use of the green ID book in South Africa and encourage people to shift to using the Smart card ID. 

Under its new minister, Leon Schreiber, Home Affairs has taken up this issue with renewed energy. Green ID books are increasingly being found to be at the centre of identity fraud and corruption within the department. 

“At the core of the duplicate IDs, for example, are the green, barcoded ID books in the main,” Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza said in a recent interview. 

“With the Smart ID, it is very difficult to duplicate someone’s ID. That is why we are migrating everyone to a Smart ID card and phasing out the green ID books.” 

Smile ID’s 2024 Digital Identity Fraud report found that South Africa’s green ID book was the most targeted in Africa for fraudulently gaining access to various services.

Tertius Wait, a cloud engineer at iiDENTIFii, explained in a LinkedIn article earlier this year why the green ID book is so vulnerable to fraud and outdated. 

The green ID book was first introduced in 1955 and has undergone very few changes to enhance its security features since. 

Wait explained that apart from issues of fraud and identity theft, green ID books are highly susceptible to physical damage and can be compromised through general wear and tear. 

“This fragility presents severe security risks, as damaged ID books can be easily altered or forged, making them unreliable for secure identification,” he said. 

The green ID book is also impractical and inefficient, with its use requiring in-person validation and being very difficult to integrate into digital verification systems. 

The government, through Home Affairs, has tried to phase out the use of green ID books through the launch of Smart ID cards. 

When the Smart ID card was first announced in 2013, GCIS CEO Phumla Williams described it as a “quantum leap” from its predecessor, which was “old”, “antiquated”, and “open to fraud.”

“The smart card will cut down on the fraudulent use of fake or stolen IDs, which is a major concern,” Williams said.“It uses sophisticated and secure technology systems to manage identity in South Africa.”

The card includes a chip storing the holder’s data, which is laser-engraved to prevent tampering.

Wait said this makes the Smart ID card much more durable and resistant to tampering or forgery than the green ID book. 

The card’s biometric features ensure that the person presenting the ID is indeed the rightful owner, significantly reducing the risk of identity fraud.

This also enables it to be incorporated into digital verification systems and, in some cases, eliminate the need for in-person validation. 

Additionally, linking biometric data with SIM cards is being explored to enhance security further. This integration can prevent fraudulent SIM card activations, ensuring that only the rightful owner can use the SIM card. 

However, Home Affairs has repeatedly missed its own targets to replace the green ID books, with initial plans to eliminate it by 2021. 

So far, only 26 million Smart ID cards have been issued against a target of 38 million in the past 11 years. The government has only managed to roll out systems to issue Smart ID cards to two-thirds of its offices. 

Big businesses, particularly banks, have tried to help the government migrate individuals away from the green ID book towards Smart ID cards. 

Most banks in South Africa require customers to present the new Smart ID card when opening a new account or applying for credit and loans to reduce the likelihood of identity fraud and other crimes. 

Banks have also embraced the government’s launch of the eHomeAffairs system, which will allow South Africans to renew their passports and Smart IDs at their branches. 

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) introduced the eHomeAffairs system in 2016. Since then, FNB, Standard Bank, Absa, Investec, Nedbank, and Discovery Bank have operated successful pilot sites. 

In total, thirty bank branches offer renewals through the system. 

Despite the slow rollout of the Smart ID cards, the government appears to already be moving on to creating digital IDs for South Africans. 

In his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana allocated additional funds to the creation of a digital ID. 

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said on 5 November that the government is working towards creating a unique digital identity. 

Kieswetter said SARS is working with the South African Reserve Bank and the Department of Home Affairs to make government services more efficient and secure. 

“The absence of a digital identity means that in South Africa, I have an ID number and a tax number. I have one for registering a company and another for being a hospital patient,” Kieswetter said.

“I appear in the system in many different identities which allows for arbitrage — so I can be employed and get a social grant because the system doesn’t pick me up.”

The Department of Home Affairs is “amending its five-year strategic plan and annual performance plan to embed digital transformation and inter-agency collaboration” into its work, its spokesperson Duwayne Esau said.

“It is still early days as this planning process remains a work in progress,” he said in a text message to Bloomberg.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said in September that his department has a five-year strategic vision to go digital.