RAM Credit Information CEO Dawn Lai (right) and CyberSecurity Malaysia CEO Dato' Ts. Dr. Haji Amirudin Abdul Wahad (left) at the memorandum signing event. — RAM Credit Information
One of the top complaints CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM) received last year was on identity theft where one’s personal data is stolen and used in fraudulent transactions or criminal activities.
“In 2018, most of the reports we received through our Cyber999 help centre was on identity theft, accounting for over 40% of the reports,” said CSM corporate executive officer, Datuk Dr Haji Amirudin Abdul Wahab.
He added that the number of identity theft cases reported in Malaysia is also growing.
“We’ve seen a 20% increase in the number of identity theft cases reported to us from 2017 to 2018, but we believe there are many more cases that have not been reported,” he said.
The personal data used in identity theft was likely obtained from the many data breaches over the past years as only 4% of the data was encrypted, he added.
He urged victims of identity theft to seek help by making a report via the Cyber999 help centre at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between CSM and RAM Credit Information (RAMCI).
The objective of the MoU is the Stop Identity Theft campaign which aims to educate the public on avoiding identity theft, as well as the consequences of being a victim.
Online identity theft can be carried out through phishing emails and malicious software, said Dawn Lai, RAMCI corporate executive officer, adding that some hackers have even obtained data from discarded computers and mobile devices that were not wiped out cleanly.
At the event, the company also launched the JagaMyID Plus, a credit monitoring tool that will alert users if a loan or credit card is applied under your name, as well as provide credit score reports and worldwide insurance coverage.
“Together with CyberSecurity Malaysia and our partner Great Eastern on the insurance side, we are launching a new tool called JagaMyID Plus, to help protect your personal credit health, safeguard against identity theft, and provide MySecure insurance protection worldwide,” she said.
The JagaMyID Plus is available now at an introductory price of RM99 for a one-year plan – the code JAGAMYID will grant an additional 20% discount if used before May 16.
To find out more about JagaMyID Plus, visit the RAMCI website.
