Having your identity stolen can impact your credit profile negatively – including your ability to buy a car. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to ensure that you minimise the risk of having your identity stolen. By protecting your identity, you keep your credit profile healthy, which will improve the chances of having credit approved in the future.
Much like accountants and architects are professionals in their field; scammers are also professionals in their field. It is estimated that identity theft costs South African businesses more than R1-billion a year, and those who are responsible rarely get caught.
There are little or no repercussions for these career criminals who spend their lives finding ways to deceive private individuals and banks – all in the name of criminal enterprises for their personal gain. Access to your personal details is all that’s needed for an identity thief to impersonate you and apply for credit in your name.
This is known as identity theft – when your identity has been assumed by a criminal, who then uses your personal details to commit fraud. Using a bit of a persuasion, they can convince the bank to grant them loans, issue credit cards and, in extreme cases, even credit for cars or houses – all in your name.
According to the bank’s records, you are the person who is responsible for repaying the loans. Naturally, this can be disastrous for your credit record. Undoing the damage caused by identity theft is a time-consuming process that can cost a lot of money. The responsibility falls solely on you because the relevant banks and credit bureaus will not know which loans are fraudulent. It is up to you to prove any fraud involved in a transaction.
Of course, there are measures that can be taken to significantly reduce the possibility of credit fraud and identity theft happening to you. The most important piece of the puzzle is to guard closely any documents and information that can be used by criminals to assume your identity. This includes your driver’s license, ID book or card, and passport. These personal documents should be kept under safeguard, and if they are lost or stolen this should immediately be reported to the police and credit bureaus.
When you apply for finance, you are generally asked to submit photocopies of these personal documents. Here, it’s important to take care that you have these copies made by reputable individuals – ideally at the dealership where you’re buying the vehicle. Alternatively, seek the services of a notary to make certified copies.
Other paperwork that should be kept closely guarded include bank statements, payslips, and any account statements that arrive by mail. Even expired bank cards and old chequebooks can be used to steal your identity. These should be filed away securely, or destroyed.
