Identity theft is one of the fastest
growing crimes in South Africa. Criminals target individuals
and then use their IDs and bank accounts to go on shopping
sprees, buying goods like clothes and furniture, or even
houses. Billions have been siphoned from unsuspecting
victims accounts and experts say we are not far behind the
United States, where every 79 seconds, someone’s identity is
stolen.
We meet a victim of this racket, Isaac
Makunyane, a 33-year-old cargo manager from Johannesburg.
Fraudsters
created a duplicate of his ID, but with somebody else’s face
in it. They managed to get hold of his financial details and
then bought a fridge, a stove and a double bed on credit,
even paying for some purchases via debit order.
Craig Evans, a Johannesburg businessman,
is another victim of ID theft. He lost R25 000 in one day
when a fraudster impersonated him at his bank with a false
ID and driver’s licence.
Thabo Mohlatlole from Klerksdorp
discovered that he had “bought” a house in Soshanguve - with
the help of a home loan from one of South Africa’s major
banks.
Fraud
Prevention Services report that since the beginning of the
year their members have filed a total of 3 786 cases of
fraudulent impersonation.
By blocking these scams they have managed
to prevent fraud of over R256 million. But according to
them, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Stolen Lives
is directed by Johann Abrahams and was
filmed by Jan de Klerk
