R33k Identity Theft Nightmare: How Sassa Let a Stranger Live Off a Pensioner’s Grant**
For more than a year, Sipho Mayo lived a nightmare that many South Africans fear. While the elderly man from Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, struggled to put food on the table, drowning in poverty, a stranger nearly 100km away was living off his name. In a shocking case of identity fraud and bureaucratic failure, an imposter in Mamelodi, northeast of Pretoria, had been using Mayo’s ID number to collect his old-age grant every single month.
The ordeal began 14 months ago. Mayo’s financial safety net had vanished after money from his private retirement fund ran out, leaving him without a stable source of income. Desperate and eligible for state support, he went to his local South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) offices in June to apply for an old-age grant. What he found there was enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
Officials informed him that his application was rejected because, according to their system, he was already receiving money. A person in Mamelodi had been claiming his grant for six months prior to his application. Despite Mayo standing right there in front of them, proof in hand that he had received not a cent, Sassa did not take immediate action to stop the fraud.
Instead, the imposter’s gravy train continued uninterrupted. For another nine months, the Mamelodi man kept collecting the R2,400 monthly payout. By the time the fraud was finally halted, the stranger had pocketed a total of R33,360.96—money meant to keep Mayo and his family afloat.
The situation forced Mayo into a humiliating position where he had to rely entirely on his partner.
“I’ve been surviving through the help of my wife, who has been very patient with me. She has been taking care of the groceries and other costs. Both of us were carried by her Sassa grant from June until today,” Mayo revealed, describing the strain the ordeal placed on his household.
Mayo didn't take this lying down. He fought back, verifying his identity with the Department of Home Affairs in November through the National Identification System (Hanis) to prove he was the rightful holder of the ID number. He bounced between the Vosloorus and Mamelodi offices, pleading his case, but saw little progress. The wheels of bureaucracy turned agonizingly slowly while his money continued to flow into the wrong hands.
The breakthrough only came this week, and not because the system corrected itself, but because the media got involved. After *Sowetan* received Mayo’s desperate complaint and forwarded it to the Sassa head office in Pretoria on Monday, the reaction was instant.
“On Monday, I started receiving multiple calls from the head office in Pretoria, and another call came from Mamelodi asking for documentation. On Tuesday, they called again to tell me they have fixed my problem, and I need to go to Vosloorus to update my application,” Mayo said.
Suddenly, the agency blocked the imposter’s Sassa card, flagged the ID number involved, and finally approved Mayo’s legitimate grant application.
Sassa spokesperson Andile Tshona attempted to explain the blunder, stating that the agency was initially not aware of Mayo’s specific case until the media inquiry landed on their desk.
“Upon receiving this [Sowetan] inquiry, the grant of the Mamelodi person has lapsed until he visits home affairs [offices] to apply for another ID,” Tshona said.
He went on to shift some of the blame away from the agency's internal processes, pointing instead to a duplication issue at Home Affairs.
“What we’ve discovered is that an ID number was issued to two individuals. This is not Sassa’s fault; and we believe the Beneficiary Biometric Enrollment that was introduced in September will assist in cases like these,” Tshona added.
Tshona confirmed that the Mamelodi man had applied for and was approved for the grant back in January 2025. It took more than a year for the authorities to realize that two different men were sharing one identity number, allowing the fraudster to siphon off over R33,000 in taxpayer money meant for the vulnerable.
While Mayo is expected to finally begin receiving his rightful grant from April, his experience shines a harsh spotlight on the ongoing challenges within the social security system. The incident raises serious questions about identity verification and fraud detection, issues that continue to affect vulnerable beneficiaries across the country.
For now, Sipho Mayo can breathe a sigh of relief that his fight is over, but for many others navigating the maze of government grants, the fear of falling victim to similar administrative chaos remains all too real.
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