Crooks target grant lifeline for needy
Fraudsters steal ID numbers of 18-year-old first-time applicants to access SRD money
Young people hoping to access the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant for the first time are being robbed of the opportunity by fraudsters.
At least three Nelson Mandela Bay residents are among the hundreds across SA who have found that their ID numbers are already active on the system when they try to apply for the grant in some cases before they have even received their ID books from home affairs.
All three tried to apply for the SRD grant after turning 18 but, according to the system, they were already beneficiaries.
The grant, meant for the poor and unemployed, was raised from R350 to R370 in April.
A KwaNobuhle matric pupil was shocked when she tried to apply for the grant and discovered her account was already active.
The young woman was a Sassa recipient, but was kicked off the system after turning 18 and looked to the SRD grant to supplement the lost income.
“I lived with my aunt who ... relied on a state pension. She died in December.
“I applied for my ID only in early December.
“I tried to apply for the SRD grant in February, but the system told me my account was already active,” she said.
She and her cousins punched in all the cellphone numbers in the house to see if they would match, but to no avail.
“I feel scammed because it means someone out there is benefiting from using my details without my consent.
“I’m in matric and there’ sa lot that’s required of us and that money could assist my family with many things.
“I could use that money to buy toiletries, sanitary towels, pay for study camps and other things needed,” she said.
“How were these people able to access my ID like that?”
An 18-year-old from Whittlesea had heard his friends at school talking about the R350 grant and decided to apply.
“I got my ID in December and that’s when I decided to register for the grant.
“But when I looked, we found that my account had been active since October, which was two months before I got my ID,” he said.
“My dad and I followed up and we saw whoever had been getting the grant got it two months prior to me receiving the ID. “We followed it up with the department of social development and were able to cancel it and register my correct details so that it would be coming to me.”
Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu previously revealed that nearly 800,000 unemployed young people with tertiary qualifications had applied for the SRD grant.
In October, it was reported that an average of 8.5-million people were receiving the grant, with the expenditure on this in the 2022/2023 financial year totalling R30.2bn.
Nomathamsanqa Ndika, the mother of another Bay high school pupil whose ID was used by fraudsters to access the grant, said: “He tried to [apply for] the R350 and was told he’s already registered and we’ve been trying unsuccessfully since then.
‘I got my ID in December and that’s when I decided to register for the grant. But when I looked, we found that my account had been active since October, which was two months before I got my ID’
“Where are they [fraudsters] getting the ID numbers from?”
As the frequency of such incidents rises, it highlights the urgent need for enhanced safeguards and awareness campaigns to shield young people from the predatory tactics of scammers.
Sassa spokesperson Paseka Letsatsi said the agency was aware of the cases of identity theft and was working with the police and home affairs.
“[We’re] actively investigating these cases,” Letsatsi said.
“Some arrests have been made. No further comment can be made at this stage as these investigations and prosecutions are still active.
“Where a particular ID has been identified as being used in identity theft, Sassa blocks that ID on the SRD system.
“The true owner of the ID then needs to undergo a facial biometric identification process to confirm his or her identity.”
Letsatsi encouraged applicants to call the Sassa call centre on 0800-601011 for further guidance and assistance.