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Fraudsters get the red flag

Alex Kayle
By Alex Kayle, Senior portals journalist
Johannesburg, 03 Dec 2009

Security company Active Customer Credibility Scan and Security Alerts (ACCSSA) is bullish about using technology to curb escalating fraud in the car rental industry.

This is according to MD Mike Martin, who says ACCSSA went live at the beginning of the year and controls an online database where a subscriber, such as a hotel manager, can log onto its system and report cases of fraudulent activity.

ACCSSA has a strong presence in the hotel industry, particularly in Cape Town, and now plans to expand into the car rental industry. Martin notes that ACCSSA has signed up with First Car.

Curbing fraud

Martin says car rental companies and hotels are some of the biggest hit industries of fraudulent activity. “As a result, we've found there is a need for these industries to have a system in which they can verify a potential customer's information online. We currently have around 4 000 people on the system who have been reported as committing fraud.”

Martin adds that ACCSSA has partnered with MaxID, a South African company which managed the IEC fingerprint machines this year. ACCSSA offers its subscribers a handheld MaxID device which scans driver's licences, IDs, passports and performs barcode decryption. It is also a smart card reader that scans fingerprints and credit cards.

ACCSSA subscribers are linked to an online system which can determine whether a potential customer's credentials are valid. They are also informed whether the potential customer has any history of fraudulent activity.

Formed as a joint venture between Webcom Software, Redano, and Websoft, ACCSSA is a global company, with offices in SA, the US and UK. The company uses a red flag notification process to alert instances of misconduct such as fraud, non-payment, short payment, theft and damage to goods, property and assets. =

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