One area in South Africa that is unfortunately showing unprecedented growth is consumer fraud, which rose to a shocking 844,000 reported cases in 2020-2021, up from 493,000 the previous year. And many of the scams that take place are related to identity theft. In some cases, people’s identity documents are stolen or lost, and fraudsters are quick to manipulate them by altering their photos and then submitting fake documents to credit providers. However, worryingly, many victims of ID theft say they still have their documents with them and that, apart from their official Home Affairs document, the copied…
One area in South Africa that is unfortunately showing unprecedented growth is consumer fraud, which rose to a shocking 844,000 reported cases in 2020-2021, up from 493,000 the previous year. And many of the scams that take place are related to identity theft.
In some cases, people’s identity documents are stolen or lost, and fraudsters are quick to manipulate them by altering their photos and then submitting fake documents to credit providers.
Worryingly, however, many victims of ID theft say they still have their documents with them and that, as well as copying their official Home Affairs document, the fraudsters have also obtained details of their home address.
READ ALSO: Consumer fraud up 373%, but less than 30% of victims report it – Stats SA
In some cases, the first victims become aware of the fraud when they are sought by debt collectors. The South African Fraud Prevention Service estimates that identity theft and related fraud costs the country R1 billion annually.
Sharon Knowles, CEO of Da Vinci Forensics and cybersecurity expert, advised people to be careful when giving out personal information over the Internet or social media; never provide personal information, such as credit card information, over the phone; and obtain a credit report frequently to detect any illegal activity. Lesson: keep your wits about you.
