The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) is calling on individuals between the ages of 18 and 59 to verify that their identity was not stolen. This comes after an uptick in fraud detection concerning the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.
Sassa confirmed the detection of fraud in its SRD grant payment system, finding that people who are being paid the relief grant have not applied for the grant which indicates that their information has been stolen.
The agency is calling on individuals to contact Sassa to verify that their identity has not been stolen.
If you are between 18 and 59 years old and have not applied for the COVID-19 SRD grant, please contact Sassa at 0800 60 10 11 or send an email to: [email protected] to verify if your identity has not been stolen.
Detection Of Fraud In The SRD Grant System
In October, Two Stellenbosch University students uncovered significant fraud within the SRD grant payment system. Their research revealed that fraudsters are exploiting unsuspecting citizens' identities to apply for and receive SRD grants.
They found
- Identity Theft: Fraudsters are using stolen identities to create fake bank accounts and apply for SRD grants.
- High Application Rate: An unusually high number of SRD grant applications were found for individuals born in February 2005, suggesting widespread fraudulent activity.
- Campus Survey: A survey of Stellenbosch University students showed that a significant number had fraudulent SRD grant applications in their names.
At the time, Sassa acknowledged the existence of fraud within the system but argued that the students' findings do not account for the agency's efforts to combat it.
Sassa also reportedly implemented several security measures, including advanced algorithms to detect suspicious applications and enhanced identity verification which uses facial recognition and OTP checks.
These measures led to the flagging of approximately 2 million SRD grant applications for further verification.
While Sassa views this as a positive step, critics argue that these measures may be impractical for vulnerable citizens who may not have access to the necessary technology.
The students and civil society groups have called for a more comprehensive overhaul of the SRD system, suggesting either stricter application verification or a complete system rebuild.
They express concerns about the reliance on biometric verification, arguing that it places an unnecessary burden on citizens.
