When Michael* survived a car crash after his car rolled twice, little did he know that his finances would be upside down in months to come.
Michael, a municipal employee in Gauteng, escaped with minor scratches from the car accident two months ago.
His car was written off by his insurer.
“I was hospitalised for two days and during my admission, I asked my wife for my wallet as I wanted to buy snacks and water from the vending machine.
“We looked for it and couldn’t find it. Only later we accepted that it might have been lost at the accident scene and I didn’t immediately block my bank cards,” he said.
It was only a week after the accident that he went to the banks to have the cards replaced and he also applied for a new driver’s licence.
In the second month he discovered something was amiss.
“I received my salary on my payday but I realised a day later that my bank account has been cleaned out and I was left with R110. All my salary was gone before the debit orders could be paid. I was in trouble.”
His bank told him that he may have been a victim of identity theft, which is normally done by syndicates.
Typically the syndicates steal bank cards and identity documents and use those to apply for credit or buy contract cellphones.
But in Michael’s case, they just looted his bank account.
According to the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) there has been a spike in cases of fraud in the country, particularly in Gauteng.
The SAFPS said the province makes up 62% of the country’s total fraud incidents and that the number of incidents recorded so far this year was 117% up on last year's figure.
Though Michael has reported the fraud to the police and other relevant institutions, he is still worried that the fraudsters might use his stolen identity to commit other crimes.
“This has hit me really bad financially. I had to borrow money from relatives and friends just so I can pay my debit orders and put food on the table for my family. It has been a huge inconvenience to my family. I’m still trying to catch up with my debts while I wait for my bank to investigate and possibly reimburse me,” said Michael.
SAFPS CEO Manie van Schalkwyk, said the economic climate also worsens the fraud problem.
“Consumers are facing a significant cycle of high inflation and are looking for ways to make ends meet. This makes them increasingly vulnerable to scams and schemes which are being carried out by highly motivated, highly skilled fraud syndicates,” he said.
Forgery has always been a significant crime in SA, said Van Schalkwyk.
“With SA having a very high unemployment rate, in an effort to increase employability, we are seeing an increase in false qualifications by 158% over the cases reported in 2021.”
KwaZulu-Natal contributed 18% of the fraud incidents this year, followed by the Western Cape with 8%.
SAFPS points out that the number of incidents reported this year increased by significantly over those recorded in 2021. This as more and more people are becoming aware of fraud and how they can protect themselves.
*not his real name
sifilel@sowetan.co.za
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