Many people are unaware of how Identity theft can affect their lives. Some even dismiss it as something that will “never happen to them” because they are careful with who they share their data. However, after the Master Deeds leak, over 70 million South Africans data was made available including South African ID numbers, phone numbers and street addresses.
Take a moment and think about the number of services that use those details to verify identity before opening a line of credit?
Criminal Syndicates
Having your identity stolen and illegally used can hit your finances hard. Criminals could take out credit in your name or take money from your bank account. Those unauthorized actions on your credit profile can hurt your credit score and affect your chances of getting credit in the future.
Thankfully in most situations, the effects of fraud can be reversed if detected early enough. But this process can take an emotional toll on you and the impact can go on for much longer than the actual fraud itself – research by Experian's Victims of Fraud team shows that it takes an average of 292 days for people to discover their information has been used for fraudulent purposes and then it can take a staggering 300 hours to set the record straight!
You should check your credit report regularly as many of your financial accounts are detailed in it. Checking your credit report lets you spot fraud early. Look out for:
- Searches on your report made by lenders as a result of a credit application.
- Home addresses that aren't yours.
- Loans and accounts that you didn’t apply for.
How to spot the warning signs of identity fraud
At Ekaya, we only make things that we would use ourselves, every day. That's why we built our VIP system to be the best identity verification, credit reporting and affordability calculator on the market. We designed VIP to help tenants and landlords connect and exchange information simply and securely during the rental application process but, given the scale of the recent Masterleaks disaster, we're extending an invite to all South Africans to make use of the service in order to safeguard themselves against identity fraud.
50% off VIP
We're passionate about using good technology to help people which is why we are offering all South Africans a 50% discount on the VIP service for the next month.
