Identity Theft South African Style

You have no life in South Africa without this. It is the equivalent of the U.S. green card.

Identity theft. My name is Lily Lilypond. Why would anyone try to steal that identity? For money of course. Fortunately, I’m as broke as a half-boiled egg.

Identity theft seems to be digital, because we do many things online that need identity verification. What is your credit card number? When does it expire? Do you still live at 45 Lily Avenue, what is your phone number? That sort of thing.

I never give out my phone number because I don’t want those telemarketers on my case. Guess what, hackers have it and they call me to say that I owe the Canadian government $10,000 or a bank I’ve never dealt with in my entire life.

Identity theft. Nobody understands it like South Africans. In that country, your I.D. is your whole life. You can’t get a job, buy a house or get medical attention without your I.D.

South Africans guard their green I.D. document like the crown jewels. Unfortunately, they lose it sometimes. Their loss becomes someone’s gain because there are thousands reported cases when they find themselves married to some unknown persons.

South Africa is one of the preferred destinations for West Africans. Being married to a South African results in citizenship and acquisition of an I.D. It is like those foreigners in the U.S. who marry Americans for the green card.

There are many theories about how foreigners tamper with a stolen South African I.D. document. How they do it is fodder for another blog. Suffice it to say that South Africans don’t regard identity theft as something digital.

It is putting your hands on your head and wailing your lungs out, that you were robbed with your I.D. inside your bag.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.