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NOTIFICATION OF UNAUTHORISED ACCESS OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Consumer Profile Bureau (Pty) Ltd (CPB) regrets to inform you that an unauthorised person fraudulently obtained access to your Personal Information as retained by CPB in our capacity as a registered Credit Bureau.
Description of the incident.
The perpetrator fraudulently misrepresented himself as a representative of an existing company, who was permitted in terms of the National Credit Act to obtain your personal information. The perpetrator supplied CPB with valid copies of all the required documentation and information to enable CPB to onboard the company as a legitimate client. Our investigation has revealed that the perpetrator acquired possession of the company’s information and documents by way of fraud and theft.
The perpetrator accessed your personal information during December 2022.
Description of the consequences of the Incident
The table below indicates what information the perpetrator provided to CPB and the information that CPB provided back to the perpetrator. It is evident that the perpetrator was in possession of some of your personal information already, including your identity number.
Kindly note that perpetrator was not provided with any of your bank account details.
| Information Provided by Perpetrator | Information Provided by CPB |
| Identity Number | Name and surname |
| Contact info: Address, Telephone Number, E-mail | |
| Judgment record (if any) | |
| Debt Review Record (if any) | |
| Credit Account overview | |
| Employer information |
It is not certain what the perpetrator’s intention is, but a compromise of personal information can create opportunities for criminals to impersonate a data subject and although it does not guarantee access to credit profile and accounts, it may be possible for criminals to use this information to trick data subjects into disclosing more confidential information.
Advice and recommendations to mitigate the effects of the unauthorised access.
CPB recommend that you be cautious when receiving unexpected telephone calls and/or other communications requesting you to reveal any personal and financial information. You should be overly cautious if you are requested to provide your banking account details. We recommend that you never provide your bank account pins or passwords to any person requesting it.
We further recommend that you regularly review your credit profile to determine if any unlawful credit activity has occurred. To assist herein CPB will provide you with unlimited free reports, which you can obtain by visiting My Free Credit Report on our webpage, alternatively can be obtained by e-mailing us at [email protected] or contacting our offices on 010 5909505.
CPB will also be monitoring your credit records and will be able to provide you with notifications of any changes and updates to your credit profile.
Description of what CPB has done to address the incident.
CPB immediately suspended the perpetrator’s access to prevent further unlawful access to your personal information.
CPB has further reported the unlawful access to your information to the Information Regulator, the National Credit Regulator and the South African Police Services and are committed to work closely with the authorities to ensure the perpetrator is apprehended.
We have also requested the South African Fraud Prevention Services (SAFPS) to list you on their Protected Victim Database and to immediately inform their members of the potential risk of fraudulent activities so that creditors will be able to contact you before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts and will also monitor any activity reported to CPB on your accounts and notify you of such activity.
In addition, CPB has appointed an independent consultant to review and recommend improvements to our client onboarding processes to mitigate against an incident of fraudulent access occurring in future.
Identity of the person who has accessed the data.
CPB is in the process of reporting this to the Law Enforcement Agencies and will work with them to identify the true identity of the perpetrator.
Due to the potential impact on the criminal investigation we are not able to disclose the information we have obtained until such time as his / her identity has been confirmed and the suspect has been apprehended.
How can you contact us.
Should you require any further information we request that you kindly contact us by email at [email protected] or telephonically on 010 5909505.
Contact details of Regulatory authorities.
Should you require additional assistance or information you may contact:
The South African National Credit Regulator:
- Website: http://www.ncr.org.za
- Postal Address: P O Box 209, Halfway House, 1685
- Street Address: 127-15th Road, Randjespark, Midrand, JOHANNESBURG, 1685
- Phone: 011 554 2600 or 086 062 7627
The South African Information Regulator:
- Website: www.inforegulator.org.za
- Postal Address: P.O Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
- Physical address: 33 Hoofd Street; Forum III 3rd Floor Braampark, Braamfontein, Johannesburg
- Tel: +27 (0) 10 023 5200,
- Email: [email protected]
CPB takes the protection of your personal information extremely seriously and reaffirm our commitment to the processing of your personal information in accordance with the provisions of POPI and all other applicable laws and regulations.
Stephen Lindsay
Deputy Information Officer
