And so Tangeni got a new friend. His name was Hafeni. This guy, Hafeni, had arrived in Windhoek six months ago and landed himself a good job at one of the private companies in the city.
Being the good friend that he is, Tangeni always
invited Hafeni to parties and other social events.
Hafeni was impressed by Tangeni’s knowledge of the social scene. Also, Tangeni seemed to be connected to every celebrity in the city and always dropped the names of politicians in his conversations with Hafeni.
It was not long before the two friends trusted each other to the extent that they moved into a flat together. Because they shared bills, Hafeni did not mind leaving his important documents with Tangeni.
It appeared Hafeni’s job was more demanding and he had little time to take care of household errands like paying bills, buying food and organising things around the house. That was left to Hafeni, who was all too pleased to oblige.
As weeks became months and months became years, the friendship grew from strength to strength and trust between the two was cemented. Hafeni still loved his work, and weekend parties, and nothing else really worried him. The only other thing he looked forward to was the weekend so he could
‘unwind’ in the best ways possible. In any case, his friend Tangeni always made sure that they went to the best spots in town.
“Tangeni himself was a fast mover. All of a sudden he started acquiring expensive designer clothes, furnished the flat with the most expensive furniture and discarded the cheap stuff. Hafeni had the thought of asking where Tangeni got the money from, but he convinced himself that being the man about town, his connections must be sorting him out financially.”
And so the high life continued until one day that turned around Hafeni’s life completely. He was visited at his work place by messengers of the court. They issued him with a warrant of arrest for ignoring court orders. Hafeni was flabbergasted. He did not know what to do. When he called Tangeni for quick advice, the message on the phone said the number was not in existence. How could that be if he saw Tangeni the same morning before he came to work?
Something was just not right, but Hafeni did not have the time to think straight. He was shown copies of letters of demand by lawyers for goods that he bought on hire purchase and credit cards over an extended period. Hafeni denied that he ever opened accounts or used his credit card to acquire those items, but letters of demand showed otherwise.
Then it dawned on him. For many months, Hafeni didn’t receive mail, as Tangeni was in charge of collecting mail from the post office and virtually
everything else around the flat. Hafeni slumped in his chair. He just realised what had happened: For trusting his good friend with everything, including his identity documents and bank cards, he found himself in a very deep mess. Tangeni had shrewdly made him use his mailbox, which he had no access to, thus denying Hafeni the chance to know what
mail he had received. How would he explain this to his employer, colleagues and family?
Sympathetic to Hafeni, the court messengers sat him down and asked him a few questions about his life, including when he came to Windhoek, and who he stays with. It was easy to identify a suspect. Tangeni
was the prime suspect and any subsequent calls to his cellphone were met by a message stating that the number has been discontinued and no longer exists.
Hafeni was informed that he was a victim of identity theft. He wondered how Tangeni got it right over this many months to clean him out from right under his nose while they stayed together and partied together.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW ABOUT IDENTITY THEFT
Identity theft is when your personal details are stolen and identity fraud is when those details are used to commit fraud.
Identity theft
Identity theft happens when fraudsters access
enough information about someone’s identity (such as their name, date of birth, current or previous
addresses) to commit identity fraud. Identity theft
can take place whether the fraud victim is alive or deceased.
If you’re a victim of identity theft, it can lead to fraud that can have a direct impact on your personal finances and could also make it difficult for you to obtain loans, credit cards or a mortgage until the matter is resolved.
Identity fraud
Identity fraud can be described as the use of that stolen identity in criminal activity to obtain goods or services by deception.
• If you are concerned about the source of a call, ask the caller to give you a main switchboard number for you to call them back on. Alternatively, hang up and call your bank back on the legitimate phone number printed on your bank statements.
• Check your statements carefully and report anything suspicious to the bank or financial service provider concerned.
• Don’t leave things like bills lying around for others to look at.
• If you’re expecting a bank or credit card statement and it doesn’t arrive, tell your bank or credit card company.
What should you do if you’ve been a victim of identity fraud?
Further advice – Plastic cards
• If your plastic cards are lost or stolen, cancel them immediately. Keep a note of the emergency numbers you should call.
• When giving your card details or personal information over the phone, internet or in a shop, make sure other people cannot hear or see your personal information.
Documents
Keep your personal documents in a safe place,
preferably in a lockable drawer or cabinet at home.
Consider storing valuable financial documents such as share certificates with your bank.
Fraudsters can use your identity details to:
• Open bank accounts
• Obtain credit cards, loans and state benefits
• Order goods in your name
• Take over your existing accounts
• Take out mobile phone contracts
• Obtain genuine documents such as passports and driving licences in your name.
• The first time you know of it may be when you receive bills or invoices for things you haven’t ordered, or when you receive letters from debt
collectors for debts that aren’t yours.
Protect yourself against identity fraud
• Don’t throw out anything with your name, address or financial details without shredding it first.
• If you receive an unsolicited email or phone call from what appears to be your bank or building society asking for your security details, never reveal your full password, login details or account numbers. Be aware that a bank will never ask for your PIN or for a whole security number or password.
• Act quickly – you mustn’t ignore the problem. Even though you didn’t order those goods or open that bank account, the bad debts will end up under your name and address.
• If you believe you’re a victim of identity fraud involving plastic cards (e.g. credit and debit cards), online banking or cheques, you must report it to your bank as soon as possible. Your bank will then be responsible for investigating the issue and they will report any case of criminal activity to the police. The police will then record your case and decide whether to carry out follow-up investigations.
• If you think you’re a victim of another kind of identity fraud, you must report the matter to the relevant organisation. Depending on their advice, you should then alert the police.
• You should report all lost or stolen documents – such as passports, driving licences, plastic cards, cheque books – to the relevant organisation.
Don’t throw away entire bills, receipts, credit-or debit-card slips, bank statements or even unwanted post in your name. Destroy unwanted documents, preferably by using a shredder.
Passwords and PINs
Never give personal or account details to anyone who contacts you unexpectedly. Be suspicious even if they claim to be from your bank or the police.
Don’t use the same password for more than one account and never use banking passwords for any other websites. Using different passwords increases security and makes it less likely that someone could access any other accounts.