Impersonator breaches Discovery Insure’s defences

Some Discovery Insure clients’ personal information has been compromised, including that of Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka.

The company said the breach affected 20 clients and it had appointed forensic specialists to investigate while offering support to its customers.

A notice shared on X that was sent to affected clients said an impersonator called the Discovery Insure call centre requesting the clients’ policy schedules.

“A detailed investigation revealed the impersonator most likely obtained personal information from historical third-party data breaches, including credit bureaus (2020), messaging platforms (2024) and other data scraping techniques.

“The impersonator used this information to pass Discovery Insure’s identification and verification screening and the policy schedules were obtained.”

A preliminary investigation showed the fraudster obtained clients’ personal details, including residential addresses, identity numbers and details of items covered by the policies.

Discovery Insure said affected clients received individual communication on May 17 and June 5 “outlining the event and offering support, including personal security consultations and physical premises security assessments”.

Wierzycka revealed on X she was one of the victims of the security breach and said she would contact the relevant regulators to report it.

She said: “I am cancelling everything we have with Discovery, including Sygnia’s medical aid. Our staff details might be compromised in the same way. I want to know if it is internal fraud.”

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