Consumer Affairs – Glenda Thompson

There has been a plethora of calls and mails from readers who have had their phone numbers ported illegally.

What, you may well ask (unless you have googled this already) is “porting”? It is simply moving from one cellular network supplier to another. This can be done over the phone, which makes it so easy for a syndicate to take over your number. All they need is your cell number, your ID number, and your proof of residence (they can get hold of this easily).

We are using the story from one of our readers, Ana, who went through a particularly nightmarish time when she had her pre-paid number ported to another network. When she inquired with her service provider as to where the number had gone, they immediately told her which provider it had gone to. They sent her to the provider who had the number but they were of little help.

Ana is an epileptic and needs her phone on her the whole time. She spent a whole month without a number and with both network providers unable to help her. Every time she tried calling her number, the line went dead. She nearly exploded with frustration.

While she was in one of the cellphone shops, a women came in who had also had her phone number ported, and had had R40,000 taken off her internet banking set up – which was on her phone.

Is there a lesson here? Don’t do internet banking on your phone in case this happens to you! Ana, thankfully, eventually got her number back and as she doesn’t have internet phone banking, all she lost was the airtime that she had on the phone.

Although I met with blank stares and a fair amount of resistance when I asked cellphone providers (from Ballito to Durban North) about the porting issue, I did meet one who admitted that illegal porting was a problem (an understatement methinks) and gave me the following advice: Be vigilant of all service provider calls. If you get an sms from a service provider – ignore it. Rather visit the cellphone shop and ask them for advice. Deal with people you can see! Visit your bank regularly to check up on your cellphone banking to see if there have been any requests from outsiders. Don’t give out your ID number to ANYONE you don’t know, over the phone or elsewhere. Keep it safe at all times.

What about RICA, we asked? How easy is it to get someone’s home address – and the documents to prove where they live? You can go anywhere and pull out a statement, they told us.

Don’t ever give any information to anyone over the phone – unless they are 100% legitimate. Simply put the phone down. If a number comes up – block the caller. There are international syndicates dealing in stealing people’s phone numbers and private information. Don’t be one of their victims!