There was a year in Mexico when identity theft increased by 141 per cent. According to statistics from the Bank of Mexico, the country has the eighth highest rate of identity theft in the world (Gazette No. 2667, Chamber of Deputies: 2016).

As regards the State Employees' Social Security and Social Services Institute (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado – ISSSTE), weaknesses were found in the personal loan approval process that facilitated the falsification of ID documents and loan application forms.

It was also discovered that in several offices, departments and trade unions, certain staff were extracting bribe payments from members in return for loan approval.

Internal control measures were therefore needed to increase security in the personal loan approval process to ensure that it complied with the relevant regulations and maintained the sustainability of the fund.