FEATURE
We aim at turning each
negative report into a
positive one through early
warnings to our members.
dealing with a single point of contact,’ Pillay explains. For example,
last year SABRIC agreed a milestone IT cooperative initiative with
the department of home affairs, allowing banks access to the home
affairs national identification system (HANIS). Banks can now verify
clients’ details online with the home affairs department in order to
curb ID-theft-related fraud. The system allows banks to determine
whether an identity document presented by a client matches the
records of fingerprints at home affairs.
Pillay has been SABRIC’s CEO since 2007, taking over from
Gilbert Swats, who became regulatory risk head at FirstRand.
Her background is in the NPA and she also practises as an attorney.
‘It is important for an organisation such as SABRIC to have a
holistic view of crime patterns in our operational space, hence the
inclusion of cash management companies and independent ATM
service providers in our fold,’ says Pillay.
A very simple divisional structure characterises SABRIC, with
operations divided between an office for combating commercial
crime and another for fighting violent crime. In charge of combating
commercial crimes is Susan Potgieter, a lawyer who worked in
the legal and forensic divisions of a major bank before she joined
SABRIC in 2003. Kevin Twiname is in charge of operations focusing
on violent crimes such as bank robberies, ATM bombings and cashin-transit industry crime.
The advanced nature of South Africa’s banking systems has led
to perpetrators of bank crime changing their focus. The perpetrators
devise bank schemes intended to dupe customers as they find it
increasingly challenging to penetrate the sophisticated systems of
the banks.
It is for this reason that the banks and SABRIC invest significant
resources in education. With this, one may assume that the war
on bank crime is won. ‘We have noticed how crime trends follow
market developments. Criminals are notorious in exploiting all
opportunities to their own advantage. A good example of this is the
storylines used in online scams,’ Potgieter says.
‘Identity theft is a recurring theme in commercial crimes. It is very
rare that criminals perpetrate commercial crimes using their own
identity. They either impersonate citizens with good credit profiles
so they can apply for products and services using their identities, or
take over their existing benefits, or use stolen identities to perpetrate
crimes, hoping that they will not be identified. All our member
banks invest extensively in crime prevention activities. As processes
and systems are upgraded and consumers educated, unfortunately
criminal modi operandi also adapt. This requires a consistent focus
on preventative strategies and inter-bank co-operation through
SABRIC, which contributes significantly to the industry’s ability to
mitigate associated risks.’
Changing banks?
38
THE BANKER
Edition 2