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The information that you share on social media could be used to commit identity theft.
16 February 2016 · Jessica Anne Wood
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) is warning people to be more careful about the personal information that they are sharing or allowing others to see on social media platforms.
Fraudsters are now getting hold of genuine personal information from social media platforms, such as email addresses and phone numbers and are using these details to collectively to take over customer identities.
However, new biometric verification systems with IDs makes it more difficult for criminals to present a fraudulent identity document at banks. SABRIC explained: “The role out of the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS) biometric verification solution by several banks has made it difficult for criminals to commit identity fraud using tampered identity books as Banks can now verify the identity of their clients using their biometric fingerprints. Criminals are aware that they will now be detected through the HANIS verification solution should they present a tampered identity book.”
How is your identity stolen?
It is important to make sure that your identity document is safe, but you also need to ensure the safety of your other information as well. This includes things such as your driving licence, physical address, telephone numbers, email addresses, passwords, PIN’s and any other information that can uniquely identify you.
In addition to phone and email scams where fraudsters pretend to be from the bank to get information from customers, social media is another tool that is used. On social media sites such as Facebook, people often have more information than is necessary available on their profile.
“People should be very aware that personal details such as names of their children, their birthdays and their whereabouts etc., which they post on social media, could be abused by criminals”, said Kalyani Pillay, the CEO of SABRIC.
The information on your social media profiles could be used by fraudsters to get you to divulge additional information. For example, they can use your contact information on your social media page and other information you have shared to get you to tell them your bank PINs and other passwords.
“Identity theft can happen to anyone and is costly to remedy once your credit profile has been affected. This is why it is important for consumers to stay abreast of how identity fraud trends change so that they can protect themselves,” added Pillay.
How to protect yourself from identity fraud
While you might not be able to prevent yourself from falling victim to fraud completely, there are steps that you can take to help. SABRIC offers a list of tips to help you limit your risk of falling victim to identity theft:
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