Actress and former TV presenter Shashi Naidoo has joined the growing number of South Africans impacted by a concerning crime trend. After her phone was stolen, criminals managed to access over R500,000 from her bank accounts—without needing passwords or facial recognition.
Naidoo shared her harrowing experience on Instagram, recounting the incident that took place at the opening of Okio Nightclub and Bellucci Luxury Lounge in Sandton. “I had a bit of a nightmare in South Africa that’s turning into a horror story,” she revealed. As she arrived at the venue, someone dashed up to her and snatched her phone. “On Wednesday I was MCing an event, and as I got out of my Uber and into the parking lot someone ran up to me and grabbed my phone. That is what I thought was the end of it. And you know that story?” she said.
Initially, Naidoo thought the worst was simply dealing with the hassle of replacing her phone. “It’s super-inconvenient. You’ve got to do a SIM swap, get a new phone. My phone wasn’t insured. Fine. That’s really bad luck,” she admitted. But things soon spiraled out of control. The next day, after struggling to complete a SIM swap, Naidoo learned her accounts had been emptied.
“I had a heart attack,” she confessed. “They have cleaned out my savings account. They cleared up to R500,000 on the credit card and I had an access bond so they withdrew all the money from my bond and put that into my savings and spent that. As soon as I saw it, I ran to FNB — and they did the same on FNB. I recently sold my house. All that money was sitting in my savings.”
Naidoo used her experience to caution others, urging them to contact their banks immediately if they find themselves in a similar situation. “If your phone does get stolen, there is a way. I haven’t figured out how they got [into] my apps without facial recognition and a password. I’m trying to figure that out,” she added.
