SAICB

Job Vacancies Relationship Manager

RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

The overall objectives of this position are to promote the company's services, communications and objectives in partnership with the members and stakeholders in general and with the relevant individuals in particular. To, in essence, assist the COO with the relationship building for the company while overseeing the overall general operations of the business.

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SAP / SAICB COOPERATION LEADS TO SYNDICATE ARRESTS

NINE ARRRESTED BEFORE COMMERCIAL COURT FOR FRAUD

After a five month investigation by members from the Port Shepstone DPCI : Organised Crime unit and South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB), nine people, believed to be part of a fraud syndicate, were arrested on 21 September 2011 afternoon and evening, for Fraud. The syndicate comprising of members from the same family, and who were operating in the Escort and Phoenix areas, were exposed as a result of intensive investigation by SAPS, SAICB and the assistance of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

The accused bought vehicles from salvage yards from one of the syndicate family members and then the vehicles were registered in the names of other members of the syndicate in order to "create a record" for the vehicle. Corrupt officials assisted to register the vehicles which were not roadworthy. These vehicles were insured at various insurers (SAICB members) and accidents were staged with the syndicate members which resulted in multiple claims submitted. The industry's loss amounts to approximately R2 million.

On Wednesday 21 September 2011 "Operation Facelift" was launched and DW/OFF Sydney Stahmer from Port Shepstone DPCI arrested the nine accused. Desmond Pillay, Bruce Pillay, Devon Pillay, Leona Pillay, Sarika Pillay, Magana Thulsi, Reshan Mohan, Jemaine Munilall and Sanphharam Jagesur appeared in Durban Commercial Crime court on the morning of 22 September 2011 and were released on bail. The case was remanded to 13 October 2011 for further investigation. More arrests are expected.

Hugo van Zyl, Chief Operating Officer of SAICB, is pleased with the investigation. He is particular proud of the co-operation between the SAPS, SAICB and the NPA which resulted in the positive results for the short term insurance industry.

Released jointly by the South African Insurance Crime Bureau and the South African Police, for more information please contact us.

Profile: South African Insurance Crime Bureau

The South African Insurance Crime Bureau ("SAICB")was officially launched on 31 October 2008 and in just over two and a half years has established itself not only as a valuable tool in the fight against insurance fraud and related crimes, but has also brought the various agencies working in the broader fight against commercial crime closer together to the benefit of all.

The main focus of the SAICB is to address organised fraud and crime in the short term insurance industry. The SAICB also investigates repeat offenders and fraudsters that target multiple insurance companies. Our aim is not to replace the internal fraud investigation units of the insurance companies but will be specifically looking at fraud and crime being committed across the industry, and affecting multiple companies, i.e. syndicated crime and fraud.

This cannot be done in isolation as the insurance industry shares clients, intermediaries, sometimes service providers, and indeed criminals with other sectors in the financial industry. These industries include the broker fraternity, the life insurance industry, the medical schemes industry, the banks, and others. In fact, the ultimate aim of the SAICB is to create a joint initiative for the whole financial services industry and other related stakeholders to address crime and fraud through the sharing of information.

The SAICB has 10 member companies, namely: Santam, Mutual & Federal, Hollard, Outsurance and Momemtum, Lion of Africa, Standard Insurance, Absa Insurance, Regent, Telesure, and MiWay. The SAICB also manages the industry Fraudline which has proven to be a valuable tool in identifying fraud and as a direct link between the public and the insurance industry.

The Dark Side of the Internet: Cybercrime

By the end of 2010, an estimated 1,97 billion people around the world were using the Internet. Of these, about 111 million were in Africa.

With the recent events in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, this number is likely to have grown substantially in the past few months. Close to 18 million Africans were using Facebook by August 2010 – this constitutes 16% of the total number of Facebook users worldwide, according to http://www.internetworldstats.com

As many as 68,5 million people use twitter on a daily basis. In the third week of January 2011, 122 319 crisis related tweets were sent from North Africa and Yemen, by the following week this number had increased to 1 317 233.(‗How Egyptians used Twitter during the January crisis', http://mashable.com/2011/02/01/egypt-twitter-infographic). And 2,8 million emails per second are sent out every day, an estimated 70% of which are spam.

The power of the Internet is undeniable: most sectors of society rely and depend on it. The ‗digital divide' between the developed and developing world is increasingly ‗bridged'. It is therefore important to examine the implications of the radical growth of the Internet, social networking sites and email platforms on computer-related crimes.

The nature of computer-related crimes has changed since the introduction of transistor-based computers in the 1960s. Back then, criminalisation of offences focused on the physical damage of computer systems and stored data. By the 1970s, there was a shift from property crimes against computers to new forms of crime relating to the use of computers. This included the illegal use of computer systems, the manipulation of electronic data and computer-related fraud. With the introduction of personal computers and the wider distribution of computer systems in the 1980s, computer technologies and software grew in importance. Tied to this was the emergence of software piracy and patents- related crimes. The growing interconnection of computer systems enabled criminals to conduct criminal business without being present at the crime scene. Myriad new forms of crime followed when the World Wide Web hit computer screens in the 1990s.

The distribution of child pornography morphed from a physical exchange of books and audiovisual materials to online distribution through website and Internet services. Most importantly, the Internet gave computer-related crimes a transnational dimension. Cybercrime today comprises a collection of offences ranging from illegal content to some forms of economic crime. Hacking, phishing, spamming, cracking, sniffing and the production and dissemination of malicious code were unknown before the computer age. Meanwhile ‗ancient' crimes such as fraud, identity theft, economic crime and the distribution of child pornography have increased incrementally, aided and abetted by various platforms on the Internet. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes' Terrorism Prevention Branch, terrorists use the Internet to propagate, recruit, train and finance their activities. Increasingly, criminals and terrorists use Internet – based email interfaces and social media for covert communication.

What is the extent of the problem? International crime analysts rely on national crime statistics and surveys but these fail to reflect the international dimensions of the problem. Moreover, statistics only list crimes that have been both detected and reported. There are valid concerns that the number of unreported cases may be significant. Consider the example of advance fee fraud where the victim is tricked into advancing sums of money with the hope of realizing great financial gain. Also known as 419 scams (the number ‗419' refers to the article of the Nigerian Criminal Code dealing with fraud), the scams depend on the likelihood that victims are too embarrassed to report the crime.

Financial institutions and banking institutions tend to under-report computer-based fraud, industrial espionage, viruses and hacking as this may negatively affect their reputation. As a result there is less data than there should be on cybercrime in South Africa, the region and the continent. A report released by the Southern African Banking Risk Information Center (SABRIC) in 2010 ranks South Africa as the 3rd most victimized country, after the US and UK, with regards to online banking manipulation or phishing. Nigeria is considered the source of most malicious Internet activity in Africa.

Cyber crime is now recognized to be a priority crime by law enforcement agencies, business and banking associations in the region. The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks) in South Africa regards it as a priority crime, as does the Southern Africa Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has been commissioned to conduct a comprehensive study on the problem of cybercrime, which may lead to the drafting of an international convention on cybercrime.

When it comes to combating cybercrime, legislative, investigative and judicial shortcomings have been noted. The effective investigation and prosecution of cybercrime may require the establishment of new offences. As the cybercriminal could be anywhere in the world, international co-operation is critical. South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002 only empowers so-called ‗cyber inspectors' to search, seize and arrest within the borders of South Africa. They cannot act beyond the borders of South Africa. The outlook for the rest of Southern Africa is as bleak with most countries lacking basic legal frameworks against cybercrime.

As a basic step, law enforcement officials need to cooperate with the inventors and patent holders of computer technologies such as computer hardware and software companies, reformed hackers and others. Computer users have to be educated on the risks as the lack of awareness and negligence of end users is propelling cybercrime. Data protection and personal responsibility for what is communicated in cyberspace may assist in curbing the tide. While it is necessary for states to implement measures against cybercrime, a careful balance has to be struck between policing cyberspace and allowing freedom of expression, access to information and basic privacy rights. We should condemn any attempts by the state or criminals to shutdown the Internet, or specific domains lest there be evidence of a serious threat. In borrowing from a controversial campaign for a different criminal activity: the fight against cybercrime starts on our own computers, laptops and handsets.

Annette Hübschle, Senior Researcher, Organised Crime and Money Laundering, ISS Cape Town Office Thank you to Liese Louw Vaudran, Editor of the. african.org for permission to use this article in our newsletter. For further information please contact her on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .