I was told I am dead: nightmare of identity theft caused him to live in the grip of fear
A MAN, 38, only realised he was stuck in an identity theft nightmare when his debit card was declined while he tried to make a payment.
The nightmare of identity theft would only get worse when he discovered he had been declared dead, his bank account was frozen, and he had to go into hiding to protect himself from crime syndicates.
“I found out that my identity was stolen on September 13, 2023, when I tried to make a purchase after work and the cashier told me the payment was declined. I then went to the nearest branch of my bank.
“I explained my situation to the consultant and he told me my account was frozen and according to the system I died on Sunday September 10, 2023, due to unnatural causes.”
The incident caused severe disruptions in his personal and professional life, he said, leading to mental health issues and strained relationships with family and friends.
“This incident has changed my whole life, because when I started making enquiries these crime syndicates came looking for me. I had to take my wife and 4-year-old daughter and go into hiding.
“So now I live in fear and it is like I am under house arrest, I cannot return to work as I am still going through this life-threatening situation.
“I have been diagnosed with severe depression, post-traumatic disorder, I have panic attacks, anxiety, paranoia, and my sleep is disturbed,” he said.
The victim believes justice can only be served when he is compensated for his suffering and the criminals are apprehended.
He said he has complained to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) about the way police have handled his case, saying “only in May, 2024 did the SAPS make contact with me, because of Ipid”.
“Justice has not been served, because the crime syndicate members who did this to me are still out there living large.”
He said police told him that life insurance policies had been taken out in his name, and many of these had been claimed.
IDENTITY fraud is on the increase in South Africa, with the latest statistics recording a 400% surge in impersonation fraud from April 2023 to April 2024.
Fraud statistics from the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) have also revealed that impersonation fraud increased by a staggering 356% from April 2022 to April 2023.
The issue of identity fraud has come to the fore following the investigation into the citizenship of former Miss SA contestant, Chidimma Adetshina.
Home Affairs found prima facie reasons to believe that fraud and identity theft may have been committed by the person recorded in Home Affairs records as Adetshina’s mother.
Home Affairs also noted that the alleged crime was done when Adetshina was still an infant and the innocent mother whose identity was stolen could not register her child.
Manie van Schalkwyk, executive director of the SAFPS, said there were many methods criminals used to steal identities. “The simplest method, of course, is theft of the physical identity document, but more sophisticated modus operandi involve the use of social engineering techniques encouraging individuals to divulge their personal information, or cybercrime-related incidents where the individual’s devices may be compromised using sophisticated malware or spyware.”
Van Schalkwyk said 40% of incidents target the 25–45 age group, with the highest growth in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“SAFPS is tasked with the responsibility of informing the public about fraud and creating awareness about the various modus operandi related to the fraud while supporting consumers in implementing active preventive measures.
“To achieve this, we recommend that consumers who have lost their identity documents, had their documents stolen, or who believe their personal information or identity may be compromised, register for a Protective Registration, at no cost to the consumer, to prevent themselves from falling victim to identity theft or suffer the pain of recurrence if they have already,” said Van Schalkwyk.
Legal analyst Mpumelelo Zikalala described identity fraud where immigrants steal the identity of a country’s citizen as the harshest form of fraud.
“I think that is the worst one because inherently you have killed that person because they are not known to exist. If they cannot get a birth certificate, it means they cannot even go to school, they cannot get social grants, or even open a bank account.”
He said Home Affairs employees had a huge role to play. “This type of fraud needs to be closely looked at because the person who allows it is an employee of Home Affairs, because someone who is not employed there does not know how the system works,” said Zikalala.
He added that Home Affairs employees should regularly audit approved applications to identify fraudulent identities, adding that they should visit individuals at their homes to verify their identities.
Through a publication in the government gazette on Friday, the Department of Home Affairs called upon persons who were currently in possession of a blocked ID to provide written reasons and representations within 30 days for why their ID should not be cancelled. The department said it aimed to resolve the decades-old issue of wrongfully blocked IDs while reducing the number of fraudulent documents in circulation. Some of the IDs were originally blocked as far back as 2005 for a range of reasons, including because the biometric system flagged the documents as duplicates, held by illegal immigrants, or because the ID holder had passed away. The submissions must be sent to Sylvia.Phasha@dha.gov.za.