By: Zethu Gweva
Fraudulent activity has denied Anelisa Sondlo from furthering her studies to tertiary level as her identity was allegedly stolen.
According to the 21-year-old from Dimbaza in King William’s Town, she discovered that someone else was using her identity in 2018 when she went to apply for an identity document to write her matric examination.
“When I got to Home Affairs, the consultant who assisted me said I had taken my ID document in November 2017,” she said.
After receiving such information, the Home affairs manager was called in to look into the system where he found out that a coloured woman was using her identity.
She added that the person who was allegedly using her details is a coloured woman from Johannesburg.
Buffalo City Metro District Operations Manager Ngenisile Stuurman said Identity theft has been prevalent ever since illegal foreign nationals invaded the Republic.
He said they steal ID numbers, birth certificates and any other forms of documents from schools and other platforms.
“They usually jump first to apply for an ID the day a person turns 16 years old, unlike the real owner of the identity number. This makes it difficult for our teens when they want an ID and discover that it has been already been applied for,” said Stuurman.
Sondlo expressed that two months after she found out that someone else was using her identity, she went back to Home Affairs to find out whether her problem had been fixed only discover that a black woman was using her identity.
“I was about to write my matric exam but due to the incident I couldn’t get my ID and I was forced to use a temporary ID to write my exam,” said Sondlo.
Stuurman expounded that the department solves the problem by deleting the ID number of the person who fraudulently used the number.
“We do not know whether the ID number belongs to her. That is what is going to be determined by our internal investigation,” he said.
He added that the investigation lasts approximately six months.
According to Sondlo the Manager said he would contact the Department in Johannesburg to investigate what was happening, as it is considered fraud.
“I cannot apply for NSFAS to continue with my studies because banks want my ID to be able to open a bank account,” she said.
Stuurman advised Sondlo to report her case at Home Affairs or the nearest Police Station.