Keep your wits on consumer fraud

One of the areas in South Africa which is, sadly, showing unprecedented growth is consumer fraud, which has spiralled to a shocking 844 000 reported cases in 2020- 21 from 493 000 the previous year. And many of the scams being perpetrated involve identity theft.

In some cases, people have their ID documents stolen or they lose them and fraudsters quickly manipulate them, changing photographs and then submitting the forged document to credit suppliers.

Yet, worryingly, many ID theft victims say they still have their documents with them and that, in addition to their home affairs official document being copied, scam artists have also obtained details of their home address.

ALSO READ: Consumer fraud up by 373% but less than 30% of victims reported it – Stats SA

In some cases, the first victims know about the frauds is when debt collectors come looking for them. The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service estimates the ID theft and related fraud costs the country R1 billion annually.

Sharon Knowles, CEO of Da Vinci Forensics and cyber security expert, advised people to be cautious when providing personal information via the internet or social media; never to provide personal information such as credit card information telephonically; and to often obtain a credit report to pick up on any illegal activity. Lesson: keep your wits about you out there.