Prevention is better than cure for ID fraud

Mbombela – Identity theft is the intentional use of someone else’s identity, usually as a method to gain a financial advantage to the detriment of the person whose identity has been stolen.

The person whose identity has been acquired illegally can be held responsible for the perpetrator’s actions. It occurs when someone uses your personally identifying information, like your name, ID number, credit card number, bank account numbers and bank pin, without your authorization to commit fraud, cyber-crimes or other related commercial crimes.

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Commercial crimes; which include fraud, embezzlement, corruption, forgery, money laundering and certain cyber-crimes; have increased steadily over the past five years: from 4 494 incidents reported in this province for the 2014/15 financial year, to 5 188 transgressions registered for the 2018/19 year.

The SAPS statistics for the Mbombela precinct have, however, shown a slight decrease of 4.2 per cent for the 2018/19 financial year, with 668 commercial crimes reported.

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Business Tech reported on September 19 about the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service’s (SAFPS) shocking statistics, showing an upsurge in identity fraud. The impersonations by fraudsters using real IDs and names have increased by 99 per cent in relation to the 2018 statistics.

The South African Banking Risk Information Center (SABRIC), a non-profit company which combats organised bank-related crimes, suggested that some personal information cannot be changed readily and frequently.

They recommend that you consider the following risk-avoidance measures when you enter or supply personal information for security verification purposes:

• Do not use compromised information. Instead use alternative personal information that you have not used in the past to confirm your identity in future.
• Register a new email account.
• Implement dual authentication for all accounts, especially for financial services apps.
• Register for SMS notifications services to alert you when products and accounts are accessed.
• Conduct regular credit checks with credit bureaus like Trans Union and Experian, to verify whether someone has applied for credit on your name.
• Register for credit-related alerts offered by credit bureaus.
• Peruse your bank statements for irregularities.

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SAFPS assists citizens to not become victims of identity fraud and theft with these tips on their website.