Identity theft: Meet Tshepo
Tshepo is a young professional trying to build a comfortable life.
Tsepho is a 30-year-old who works as a call centre agent in Sandton. He commutes by taxi from his home in Soweto to his workplace.
On a Thursday morning on his way to work, Tshepo dropped his wallet at the taxi rank. Upon realising what had happened, Tshepo went back to the taxi rank to look for his wallet. He was lucky to find his wallet in the lost and found box and was grateful to the Good Samaritan that had placed it there.
A couple of weeks passed since the incident, and Tsepho received phone calls from retail stores reminding him of outstanding account payments. Tsepho frantically visited the retail stores in question and denied owing them. According to Tsepho, the debt cannot be accrued by him because he never opened any accounts. The retail stores asked for him to present his ID and that’s when he realised he hadn’t seen it in a while and it could possibly be lost.
It turns out that the “good Samaritan” who had picked up Tshepo’s wallet at the taxi rank, had also stolen ID and changed the photo on the ID to become Tshepo”. This stranger then went on to open various accounts at different retail stores and bought goods on credit. If Tshepo doesn’t pay these account he risks ruining his credit history, so what does someone in Tsepho’s position do?
We asked Scorpion Legal Protection whether they have ever dealt with a similar case to Tsepho’s and what advice they would give to someone in a similar position. First and foremost, Scorpion recommended that without delay, Tsepho report the ID theft to the police. He should also make (depose) an affidavit confirming that his ID was stolen. Thereafter, the creditors demanding payment for the fraudulent accounts must be contacted and sent a letter explaining the situation as well as five sample specimen signatures to dispute the account. The reason for the sample signatures is because even though the fraudster would have used Tsepho’s ID to open the account, the signature would be different from Tsepho’s. They then suggest requesting that the creditors conduct a forensic investigation which Tsepho is entitled to as a consumer. After the investigation is completed by the creditors, they should close the account and remove the listing from ITC and update Tsepho’s credit profile. If Tsepho was a Scorpion member, this would all be handled on his behalf by Scorpion Legal Protection.
To learn more about Scorpion Legal Protection, and get advice on other legal matters, visit their Facebook page.
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