Resist photocopying of Ghana Card for transactions — Margins Group CEO

Ghanaians have been urged to resist attempts by any institution to photocopy their Ghana Card for transactions.

Rather, they should insist that the institutions verify the cards as prescribed by the National Identification Authority (NIA) regulation.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Margins ID Group, Moses Baiden, highlighted the caution during a visit by some officials of the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation and some of its agencies.

The visit allowed staff of the ministry and its agencies to observe the intricate processes involved in producing the Ghana Card and to understand the various purposes the secure database can serve.

This visit also underscores the importance of the secure and compliant use of national identification systems, reinforcing the need for proper education and enforcement to safeguard citizens' identities and support the country's digital economy ambitions.

The participating agencies included the Ghana Digital Centre, the Cyber Security Authority, the Data Protection Commission, Ghana Domain Names Registry, Ghana Post and the National Communications Authority (NCA).

The rest are the National Information Technology Agency, Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, and the Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission.

Mr Baiden also cautioned Ghanaians against photocopying, sharing screenshots and distributing soft copies of the Ghana Card. He stated that any such reproduction of the Ghana Card exposed the card owner to identity theft.

Proper use

The CEO of Margins ID Group said the improper use of the Ghana Card, such as photocopying or sharing digital copies, could empower criminals to use others' identities to commit fraud and other crimes.

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"Any reproduction of the Ghana Card exposes the card owner to identity theft," he noted, emphasising the importance of adhering to NIA guidelines to protect citizens' identities.

Mr Baiden explained that the NIA system required individuals to present themselves and provide fingerprint verification, which generated an audit code linked to the transaction, saying “this method ensures a high level of security and authenticity in identity verification”.

He also pointed out that the primary challenge in the country's data protection and identification efforts “is not related to data collection or technology but rather to attitudinal and enforcement issues.”

The CEO of Margins ID Group urged institutions to fully familiarise themselves with the NIA system to make informed decisions and adopt best practices.

He stated that the system provided a unique identity because the base of fraud was to duplicate an identity. “To commit a crime, the criminal has to wear a mask digitally or physically to harm public and private resources,” Mr Baiden explained. 

Clean society

That explains why the government has prioritised ID as the first step in building a clean society. Mr Baiden said the legal process also determined how secure an ID was because the technology must always follow the law.

He described data as the new gold to drive the digital economy Ghana was building in a world that is swiftly transitioning towards digitisation. Mr Baiden, therefore, stressed that a secure biometric database was crucial for the success of any digital economy.