Publications
Partners
Shutterstock [http://www.shutterstock.com]
ADVERTORIAL
YOU want to buy a car or your dream house. You need a loan to pay for your child’s university fees. You have always been careful about managing your debt - you pay all your accounts promptly every month; your credit card is never maxed out.
But your application for your bond, your vehicle finance or your child’s student loan is not accepted. Your credit record, you are told, needs some work.
Since this is an inaccurate picture of how you manage your money, you obtain your free credit report from one of the national credit bureaus, like TransUnion, and find that not all the information on your report reflects your financial behaviour.
The credit report shows you have debts in stores you have never heard of - and they are all in arrears. You have credit cards you have never seen, and they are all maxed. You owe money left, right and centre. You even have judgments against you.
You do not know the person reflected in your credit report. Except that the stranger has your name, your address and your identity number.
And you realise that someone has stolen your identity.
You are not alone. Thousands of people are robbed of their identities by identity thieves every year.
Identity theft is usually associated with stolen identity books and online fraud, but it can happen anywhere.
Some identity fraudsters only need access to your identity number and a few other personal details, which they can obtain from something as innocuous as your payslip or even your bank statement which they can steal from your desk or your post box.
Armed with this information, identity fraudsters may apply for store accounts and credit cards in your name. They have even been known to apply for, and obtain, duplicate identity documents bearing your name and ID number - with the fraudster's photograph.
The first thing to do if you are a victim of identity theft is to open an identity theft case with the South African Police Service (Saps).
Next, contact all the credit and service providers listed on your credit report and inform them of what has transpired, providing them with the Saps case number.
Be aware, however, that it can take months to restore your credit reputation. Until that happens, you may not be able to qualify for the credit you may need.
How to safeguard yourself
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to better safeguard your identity. And should your identity be compromised, there are ways for you to learn of the situation as quickly as possible so as to be able to minimise the damage.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to subscribe to a service like the TransUnion Credit Alert service.
When anyone applies for credit from any credit or service provider, an enquiry on that person’s credit report is made at a credit bureau.
A TransUnion credit alert advises subscribers via email or SMS that such an enquiry has been made. If the subscriber has not applied for credit, an alert will warn that something is amiss.
Remember that one of the major problems with identity theft is that it usually goes unnoticed for months, allowing fraudsters to run up huge debts in your name. Credit alerts can help prevent this from readily happening.
Click here for more information.
- Fin24
*Tersia van Rooyen is manager responsible for consumer education at TransUnion.
Add your voice on the Debt Issue:
*Ask our experts
*Share a personal story
*Write a guest post
YOU want to buy a car or your dream house. You need a loan to pay for your child’s university fees. You have always been careful about managing your debt - you pay all your accounts promptly every month; your credit card is never maxed out.
But your application for your bond, your vehicle finance or your child’s student loan is not accepted. Your credit record, you are told, needs some work.
Since this is an inaccurate picture of how you manage your money, you obtain your free credit report from one of the national credit bureaus, like TransUnion, and find that not all the information on your report reflects your financial behaviour.
The credit report shows you have debts in stores you have never heard of - and they are all in arrears. You have credit cards you have never seen, and they are all maxed. You owe money left, right and centre. You even have judgments against you.
You do not know the person reflected in your credit report. Except that the stranger has your name, your address and your identity number.
And you realise that someone has stolen your identity.
You are not alone. Thousands of people are robbed of their identities by identity thieves every year.
Identity theft is usually associated with stolen identity books and online fraud, but it can happen anywhere.
Some identity fraudsters only need access to your identity number and a few other personal details, which they can obtain from something as innocuous as your payslip or even your bank statement which they can steal from your desk or your post box.
Armed with this information, identity fraudsters may apply for store accounts and credit cards in your name. They have even been known to apply for, and obtain, duplicate identity documents bearing your name and ID number - with the fraudster's photograph.
The first thing to do if you are a victim of identity theft is to open an identity theft case with the South African Police Service (Saps).
Next, contact all the credit and service providers listed on your credit report and inform them of what has transpired, providing them with the Saps case number.
Be aware, however, that it can take months to restore your credit reputation. Until that happens, you may not be able to qualify for the credit you may need.
How to safeguard yourself
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to better safeguard your identity. And should your identity be compromised, there are ways for you to learn of the situation as quickly as possible so as to be able to minimise the damage.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to subscribe to a service like the TransUnion Credit Alert service.
When anyone applies for credit from any credit or service provider, an enquiry on that person’s credit report is made at a credit bureau.
A TransUnion credit alert advises subscribers via email or SMS that such an enquiry has been made. If the subscriber has not applied for credit, an alert will warn that something is amiss.
Remember that one of the major problems with identity theft is that it usually goes unnoticed for months, allowing fraudsters to run up huge debts in your name. Credit alerts can help prevent this from readily happening.
Click here for more information.
- Fin24
*Tersia van Rooyen is manager responsible for consumer education at TransUnion.
Add your voice on the Debt Issue:
*Ask our experts
*Share a personal story
*Write a guest post
