Days after a source from the Interior Ministry revealed that the government is working on digital IDs with expiry dates, it has been revealed as to why the government is taking that step.
According to a Identity Fraud report done by Smile ID, Kenya has the most vulnerable and targeted document by fraudsters in Africa with a fraud rate of 25 per cent.
The report indicated that reckless disposal of old IDs which land in the wrong hands has contributed to high rate of vulnerability with increase in population meaning an increase in IDs. This has raised the rate at which they are stolen, duplicated or lost. It also increases the chances of the holder falling victim to fraud attempts.
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“Overall fraud rates in Kenya remain stubbornly high. 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.”
This according to sources is what is fueling the government to come up with a plan after the high court rulling that made Maisha Namba illegal thus proposing Expiry dates on Identity Cards
The digital IDs with expiry dates will have a microchip that will be renewed after every ten years to ensure that the government curbs the rise of ID duplication and high fraud cases using fake documents and stolen ones with the same measure.
Other countries in the report said to have experienced an increase in identity fraud included South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, Ghana, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Botswana.
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Smile ID added that Africa may continue to experience a spike in fraud, especially biometric fraud including no face match, spoofing, duplication and generative AI.