So your ID book and your credit cards have been stolen. No problem, just apply for new ones. Maybe a hassle for a while, but no big deal!

WRONG!!!

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime on the planet!

The photograph in your ID book can easily be replaced. And armed with your credit card and your (hopefully) good credit record, the fraudster can now go on a spending spree until your credit limit is exceeded. Perhaps the fraudster has even requested the bank to change the address to which the account is sent, so you may not even notice this. But then you apply for credit and get a huge shock when it gets rejected. Non-payment of your account has been reported to a credit bureau and you cannot get any more credit. It can take you years to recover.

This is just one example of what can happen.

"I don't have much money in the bank or a large credit limit on my card, so they won't target me!", you may think.

WRONG AGAIN!!

No-one is targeting you specifically - to the crooks this is "just business". So don't give the bad guys the opportunity to get at your credit.

There are various precautions you can take to try to avoid identity theft. Watch this space for further details coming soon.

A useful service is provided by the South African Fraud Prevention Service. If your ID book is stolen, be sure to contact them. They will report the theft to the major credit bureaux, and, once listed as stolen, any attempts at obtaining credit with your ID number should be blocked. Contact details can be found on our Useful Contacts page.