South African Fraud Prevention Service is a unique South African bred service which is committed to combating fraud in society and to offering the South African public a means whereby they can protect themselves against Impersonation and Identity Theft.

In its commitment to African development and as a contribution to NEPAD, South African Fraud Prevention Service will be extending its service to other African countries.

The service has already made a significant contribution to the South African economy and to business through the prevention of more than R1 billion in attempted fraud.

Through its free public Protective Registration service it has saved many innocent members of the public from becoming victims of Impersonation with its associated trauma and personal problems when having to explain to business organisations and to the problems associated with removing names from "black lists".

South African Fraud Prevention Service is unique, not only within South Africa, but also worldwide in the various services that it offers its members and being a non profit organisation its commitment is to fraud prevention not profit. The service is funded by its members annual membership fee.

South African Fraud Prevention Service was founded in 2000 and commenced operations on 1^st July 2001.

The primary objective of the organisation is to provide fraud prevention data-sharing services across all sectors of South African business.

As at 1st February 2007 the services provided to its members comprise of;

      A database of fraudulent behaviour on the part of persons attempting to obtain goods or services or who are involved in fraudulent activity in the workplace. SAFPS members are able to access the database when conducting business with such persons to  ascertain if the subject has previously made reported previously for fraudulent behaviour with other organisations. Known as Shamwari the unique objects linked system is able to link identity numbers, names, telephone numbers and other relevant data in order to identify both individual and syndicate type fraud.

      An Internet based free service to the general public for the registration of lost or stolen personal documents including identity books, cheque books, passports and similar documents. Registrations can also be made through a fax on demand service for people who do not have access to the Internet. All registrations are circulated to members twice per day in order to prevent any attempts at impersonation, commonly called identity theft. Known as Protective Registration the service has recently been enhanced to allow for the registrations of lost and stolen documents from any country in the world.

      The DataCink fraud syndicate service which identifies fraud syndicates operating throughout the country. An e-mail warning is distributed to all SAFPS members as soon as a syndicate is identified.

      Through the services provided by South African Fraud Prevention Service more than 54 000 people have been filed to the SAFPS system for attempted and confirmed fraud between 2004 and 2008. This has involved more than R1.1 Billion in the 3 year period.

The South African Fraud Prevention Service comprises of both a new service in the South African environment as well as a strategic initiative, through the participation of major financial and retail organisations, to the combating of crime in South Africa. The service makes a significant contribution to the efforts of the private sector to reducing the perception of a crime ridden society and making South Africa an investment friendly country.

This is achieved by providing the following to members of South African Fraud Prevention Service;

      Sharing of Fraud data through access to a centralised fraud prevention database.

      Daily analysis of data provided by its members, utilising state of the art analysis software, to identify and match data and identify fraudulent activity and fraud syndicates.

      Receipt of Protective Registrations, being lodgements by members of the public to the free registration of lost or stolen identity documents and  passports, that could be used to impersonate an innocent subject.

      The ability to download SAFPS data in batch format or to carry out both single and  batch searching in the Shamwari system

The free Protective Registration facility is offered to members of the public who are encouraged to register the theft or loss of Identity Books and other personal documents or where there is evidence of impersonation by another person.

Such registration can be made on the Internet through the South African Fraud Prevention Service website at www.safps.org.za or by calling 0860 101 248

The volume of data provided to South African Fraud Prevention Service members is continually growing as members report and file cases of fraud to the various databases. From a zero base on 1^st July 2001 the database now holds more than 54 000 confirmed fraud filings. There have been more than 10 000 applications for Protective Registrations.

A Code of Conduct has been developed and members are required to adhere to the Code.

South African Fraud Prevention Service has also taken legal opinion from Senior Counsel on the Code which complies with The Constitution of South Africa. Full compliance with other applicable legislation is mandatory for all South African Fraud Prevention Service members and specifically The Promotion of Access to Information Act.

The contributions by South African Fraud Prevention Service and its members to the benefit of South Africa and its people may be summarised as follows;

      A concerted and successful initiative on the part of the private sector by contributing to a reduction in the crime of fraud as part of the national crime fighting programme.

      An improvement in profits by members through reducing losses caused by fraud and impersonation thus contributing to the perception of South Africa as a growing and vibrant economy which is determined to reduce crime.

      Indirectly improving the quality of life through the provision of a free service to members of the public to assist them in reducing the possibility of impersonation through the registration and distribution of reported lost and stolen personal documents that could be used to prejudice innocent people and cause considerable mental anguish and trauma through such impersonation.

      Achieving benefits to its members and society in general in a non profit, non competitive environment.

As a result of an escalation in fraud over a number of years several South African banks and retailers came together in 1998 to discuss how best to combat the problem.

After much deliberation the working committee decided to adopt a model of fraud prevention that has achieved tremendous success in the United Kingdom over some 12 years.

Once agreement was reached on how to combat the problem, a section 21 company was formed and a Chief Executive appointed.

The United Kingdom model, although excellent in that domain, required extensive remodelling to suit the South African environment and this was undertaken during the period September 2000 to July 2001 when operations commenced.

All development has been within South Africa utilising South African expertise and South African Fraud Prevention Service is proud of the fact that it carries the Proudly South African logo on its services.

The service cannot be legally protected through trade marks or copyrights although the data itself is fully protected by state of the art security levels of storage, encryption and transmission which is at a similar level to that of the credit card industry.

The development of the South African Fraud Prevention Service website was undertaken by service providers but under the control and management of the Executive Director of South African Fraud Prevention Service.

The service is continually growing through the input of fraud data to the databases by the South African Fraud Prevention Service members.

Future developments and strategy are continually reviewed to ensure not only satisfactory service to members and the public but also to the expansion of the service to other countries in Africa. This latter initiative currently has high priority in the future development plans of South African Fraud Prevention Service.

The services provided by South African Fraud Prevention Service are widely accepted by its members in the private sector with organisations applying to join the service. From an initial membership of 2 banks South African Fraud Prevention Service now provides fraud related data to some 65 brands in the South African economy.

The service will be extending its services to Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland during 2008 to encompass and share fraud data amongst all Southern African countries

The free Protective Registration service has been well received by the general public and whenever any publicity is given to the service through the print and broadcast media there is a flood of registrations thereafter.

The service had undoubtedly contributed to a reduction in fraud crime in South Africa and the indications are that this will grow as more data becomes available.

The service is controlled by a Board of Directors voted by the members. There are no outside Directors and all Directors are non-executive. The service is managed by the Executive Director. 

 In addition all members are bound by a strict Code of Conduct and compliance with the Code is enforced through audits carried out by South African Fraud Prevention Service of its members on an annual basis. A failure to adhere to the Code results in the matter being laid before the Board of Directors for the appropriate sanction to be applied

Should you require further information on SAFPS, its products and services or would like to discuss your fraud problems please feel free to contact Pat Cunningham, the Executive Director at

Tel: Int. Code+27+11+869 6460

or

0860101248