Identity theft is real and companies, especially financial institutions, have to ensure identity-proofing across all channels are stringent to protect the consumer at all times.
While proofing of applications is vital to prevent fraud and meet regulatory requirements, checks that are difficult and time-consuming are often abandoned by consumers.
In a recent survey conducted by FICO, 7% or about 1.5 million Malaysians say their identity has been stolen and used by a fraudster to open an account.
About 12% believe their identity was likely to have been stolen. Those in the age group of 25–34 believe they have been the victims of identity theft.
About 76% know that identity-proofing happens for their protection, while 13% are of the view this is done to enable financial institutions to sell more.
The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated digitalisation and 57% of Malaysians are more likely to open a banking account digitally compared with a year ago.
FICO is a US-based data analytics company that conducted the survey in January this year.
About 1,000 Malaysians along with 13,000 others across the United States, Britain, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Columbia and Mexico participated in the survey.
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