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A pregnant mother has been charged with stealing the identity of another woman with a similar name and incurring $25,000 of debt.
Ave Taofiga, 35, appeared in Auckland District Court last week and was indictably charged with four counts of fraud, after allegedly taking two forged wage invoice slips in the name of Fonterra worker Averina Taofiga.
Police allege that on two days in February, Taofiga used the forged documents to sign up for a $20,000 personal loan with Westpac and a further $5000 loan with GE Money, all in Averina Taofiga's name.
"These are very serious charges," Judge Michael Radford warned Ave Taofiga.
She has been bailed even though she is considered a flight risk.
Her hearing was adjourned on Friday so she could surrender her passport to police - to prevent her from leaving New Zealand - but barrister Melanie Coxon told the court her client could not find it at home.
Instead, airport alerts were flagged on Customs computers and Taofiga was granted bail on the condition she did not attempt to obtain travel documents and reported to police twice each week.
The matter was remanded without plea for two weeks, but outside court Taofiga told the Herald on Sunday that she would fight the charges.
The allegations against Taofiga are similar to a case reported by the New Zealand Listener in August.
Phillipa Millanta pleaded guilty to 11 charges of fraud after racking up loans of almost $20,000 by using the personal details of three friends - even her own sister.
Millanta's school friend Sonja Bury told the magazine the first she knew of the deception was when a finance company called about "her" $6000 loan. "They rang me at work to say I was late on my payment, and I was like, 'payment of what?'."
A police investigation found Bury had been the victim of identity crime. Detective Sergeant David Kennedy, head of the Identity Intelligence Unit, warned this type of offence was on the rise - and often went undetected.
Bury said that all Millanta needed to steal her identity was her name, birth date, and some computer know-how.
"It's scary how little information you need and how little checking is done," Bury said.
Millanta had previously worked in a bank and knew how to fake a payslip; for the photo ID, she changed the name on her own driver's licence and sent a copy to Pacific Retail Finance.
At the time, the company did not have the technology to cross-check the name and number on the licence.
Just a few months before Millanta used Bury's details, the pair had met for lunch - Bury gave her friend bags of food because she knew she was struggling, the Listener reported.
Police tracked Millanta because she used her own email address when making some of the applications. But often, police said, finance companies had no idea when a person had defrauded them, and often carried the cost when offenders were caught.
A PREGNANT MOTHER has been charged with stealing the identity of another woman with a similar name and incurring $25,000 of debt.
Ave Taofiga, 35, appeared in Auckland District Court last week and was indictably charged with four counts of fraud, after allegedly taking two forged wage invoice slips in the name of Fonterra worker Averina Taofiga.
Police allege that on two days in February, Taofiga used the forged documents to sign up for a $20,000 personal loan with Westpac and a further $5000 loan with GE Money, all in Averina Taofiga's name.
"These are very serious charges," Judge Michael Radford warned Ave Taofiga.
She has been bailed even though she is considered a flight risk.
Her hearing was adjourned on Friday so she could surrender her passport to police - to prevent her from leaving New Zealand - but barrister Melanie Coxon told the court her client could not find it at home.
Instead, airport alerts were flagged on Customs computers and Taofiga was granted bail on the condition she did not attempt to obtain travel documents and reported to police twice each week.
The matter was remanded without plea for two weeks, but outside court Taofiga told the Herald on Sunday that she would fight the charges.
The allegations against Taofiga are similar to a case reported by the New Zealand Listener in August.
Phillipa Millanta pleaded guilty to 11 charges of fraud after racking up loans of almost $20,000 by using the personal details of three friends - even her own sister.
Millanta's school friend Sonja Bury told the magazine the first she knew of the deception was when a finance company called about "her" $6000 loan. "They rang me at work to say I was late on my payment, and I was like, 'payment of what?'."
A police investigation found Bury had been the victim of identity crime. Detective Sergeant David Kennedy, head of the Identity Intelligence Unit, warned this type of offence was on the rise - and often went undetected.
Bury said that all Millanta needed to steal her identity was her name, birth date, and some computer know-how.
"It's scary how little information you need and how little checking is done," Bury said.
Millanta had previously worked in a bank and knew how to fake a payslip; for the photo ID, she changed the name on her own driver's licence and sent a copy to Pacific Retail Finance.
At the time, the company did not have the technology to cross-check the name and number on the licence.
Just a few months before Millanta used Bury's details, the pair had met for lunch - Bury gave her friend bags of food because she knew she was struggling, the Listener reported.
Police tracked Millanta because she used her own email address when making some of the applications. But often, police said, finance companies had no idea when a person had defrauded them, and often carried the cost when offenders were caught.
