‘The fraudster had all my information’ – Identity theft leaves victim in R140k debt

Identity theft is a fast-growing crime that costs the economy a staggering R1 billion annually, according to experts.

The Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) cautioned South Africans on the uptick of impersonation crimes – and one victim, Sandile Mofokeng, learnt this the hard way: it has left him with debt of nearly R140 000.

“I went to apply for a cellphone contract at Vodacom in November last year. That’s when I found out I was blacklisted and wanted by the credit bureau for a debt of R139 468,” Mofokeng said.

“It was my first year of working; I was fresh from university and had been building my credit score for the past two years because I wanted to buy a car as soon as I was financially stable.”

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Mofokeng said although he did not lose his ID document, he was surprised that the fraudster had all his information – from his identity number, name and surname and even his address – only the picture in the document wasn’t him.

Gauteng a hotspot for identity theft

According to the Stas SA’s latest Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey, the number of incidences of consumer fraud increased from 493 000 in 2020-21 to 844 000 in 2021-22.

“The percentage of individuals who reported some or all incidences to the police increased from 41.3% in 2020-21 to 44.2% in 2021-22, a 2.9 percentage point increase compared to the previous year,” the report indicated.

Gauteng, SA’s economic heartbeat, had 62% of total fraud incidents, with incidents recorded in 2022 increasing by 117%. KwaZulu-Natal was the second highest with 18% of the fraud incidents in 2022, according to the SAFPS.

Sharon Knowles, CEO of Da Vinci Forensics and cyber security expert, said people were not aware of identity theft until they fall victim to it because they do not know how to check their credit records scores regularly.

“It’s increasing at a rapid pace. The problem is that people don’t know about it until it’s too late and the debt has piled up.”

Knowles said while there was very little a victim could do after the fact, they should report the matter to the Saps and SAFPS.

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“They must also inform the credit bureaus of the fraudulent activity who will then advise them on how to move forward.”

Knowles urged South Africans to protect their personal information:

• Be cautious when providing personal information via the internet or social media;
• Do not to provide personal information such as credit card information telephonically; and
• Obtain a credit report every year. This year, the department of home affairs dismissed two employees for fraud relating to the selling of SA identities to foreigners. Another four were suspended for similar offences.

– reitumetsem@citizen.co.za