Protect yourself from identity theft

It is estimated that identity theft costs the South African economy around R1 billion a year.

Statistics from the South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) show that identity theft has increased by 200% over the past several years. Identity theft takes place when someone’s personal information is stolen and used to commit fraud or other crimes, and it could be financially devastating for the victim. All these fraudsters need access to is your wallet or social media account to obtain all the details they need to start pretending to be you: your identity number, name, surname, address, etc.

Historically, identity theft focused mainly on the theft of credit cards; today, stolen identities are used to obtain cellphone contracts, rent cars, and apply for store credit and even personal and home loans. Consumers who manage their accounts well and stay on top of their repayments may well believe that they have a good credit record, only to find that their credit record has been compromised by an impersonator when their request for credit is denied.

According to the National Credit Act, each South African citizen is entitled to a free credit report each year. Few consumers are, however, aware of this fact and make use of this important right to safeguard their credit records. Consumers have the right to dispute information on their credit report, and to have any incorrect information corrected free of charge. The SAFPS also provides free assistance to consumers in the instance that they have become a victim of identity theft.

The following are the most common ways for fraudsters to gain access to your personal information:

Dumpster diving: Criminals rummage through trash, looking for bills or other papers that contain your personal information.
Skimming: Your credit or debit card number is stolen through the use of a special storage device while your card is being processed for payment at a store.
Phishing: Criminals pretend to represent a legitimate financial institution or company and send spam or pop-up messages requesting you to provide them with your personal information. Most cyber criminals use Trojan, a crimeware computer package used to obtain unauthorised access to a potential victim’s personal information.
Changing of address: A criminal diverts your billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.
Mail theft: Bank and credit card statements, offers of pre-approved credit cards and the like may be stolen from your mail.

Because many South Africans remain unaware of the different scamming techniques used by criminals and how to avoid falling victim to these, Compuscan, a leading South African Credit Bureau, shares the following advice that consumers should follow to protect themselves against identity theft:

Examine your statements every month to see if there are any unknown transactions. Report any suspicious activity immediately.
Safeguard your identity number. Only carry your ID and passport with you when it is absolutely necessary.
Shred receipts, statements and documents containing personal information before discarding these.
Never give out any personal information over the phone.
If your ID document is stolen, report it to the SAFPS to ensure that it does not get used fraudulently.
Strengthen your passwords. A strong password contains a minimum of 8 characters, which include punctuation and numeric, upper case and lower case characters.
Be very selective with the information you share on social media. Make use of privacy settings.
Always check that you trust the sender of emails. Be vigilant and don’t freely trust pop-up adverts.
Don’t click on suspicious links on computers or mobile devices.
Be aware that no financial institution would ever ask for login credentials via email.
Note the authenticity of websites before entering any of your personal information. Look for the ‘secure’ padlock symbol in the URL field, in the top left-hand corner of the address, before you make any payments online.
Check your credit report on a regular basis via My Credit Check (www.mycreditcheck.co.za). Compuscan recommends doing so once a month. This enables you to track new accounts and existing payments, to ensure that no one has opened accounts in your name.

The information contained in this article is of a general nature and intended for information purposes only. It is neither to be construed as financial advice nor to be regarded as a definitive analysis of any financial, legal or other issue. Individuals must not rely on this information to make a financial or investment decision. Before making any decision, we recommend you consult your financial planner/advisor to take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation and individual needs.