Are you sharing too much?

As banks advance with new technologies to fight bank-related fraud, fraudsters are resorting to more subtle ways of stealing personal information for the purpose of perpetrating identity related fraud.

In the past, criminals focused on stealing identity books so that they could replace the photograph and impersonate the victim when applying fraudulently for products or services. They are now collecting diverse personal information, whether it’s an e-mail address or a phone number, and then using this information collectively to take over customer identities.

What is worse is that most of this information is freely shared by bank consumers, without being aware that it can be used by criminals to defraud them. The role out of the Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis) biometric verification solution by several banks has made it difficult for criminals to commit identity fraud using tampered identity books, as banks can now verify the identity of their clients using their biometric fingerprints.

Criminals are aware that they will now be detected through the Hanis verification solution should they present a tampered identity book. Social media platforms are a valuable source of information for criminals as many consumers have more personal information on their Facebook profile for example, than necessary.

“People should be very aware that personal details such as names of their children, their birthdays and their whereabouts, which they post on social media, could be abused by criminals,” said Kalyani Pillay, the CEO of Sabric, South African Banking Risk & Information Centre.

Other ways in which fraudsters attempt to steal bank customers’ information is by creating fake competitions, directing consumers to spoofed websites and intercepting e-mails. Information gathered is then used to trick the victim into disclosing even more sensitive information that is used to impersonate the victim in fraudulent activities.

“Identity theft can happen to anyone and is costly to remedy once your credit profile has been affected. This is why it is important for consumers to stay abreast of how identity fraud trends change so they can protect themselves,” said Pillay.

The South African Fraud Prevention Services (SAFPS) has managed to save its members, which include the banks, more than R8 billion in fraud prevention through early detection of identity fraud. The SAFPS believes more could be saved if bank customers were more vigilant.