Payment fraud is top financial crime concern for Malaysians
Published on: Tuesday, May 21, 2024
By: Bernama
Around 7% of Malaysians, equivalent to 1.6 million individuals have reported their identity being used to open a financial account, up from nearly 6% in 2022.
PETALING JAYA: About 32% of Malaysians are most concerned about being tricked into making payment to a criminal, which exposes individuals to instant, irrevocable losses rarely eligible for reimbursement, said the global analytics software firm FICO.
In its latest global consumer fraud research, FICO said the survey sheds light on Malaysians’ ongoing apprehension regarding real-time payment scams amid the growing adoption of new, convenient, and fast payment channels.
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Additionally, it said concerns about identity theft persist, with over 25% of Malaysians citing it as their top financial crime concern as this type of fraud carries additional risks beyond financial loss, such as compromised credit scores and the challenging process of restoring financial integrity.
“Real-time payment scams are on the rise, with 76% of Malaysians having received unsolicited text messages, emails, phone calls, or other outreach that they believed to be part of a scam.
“While 54% of respondents stated that their friends or family members had been victims of a scam,” FICO said.
It said despite widespread concern about identity theft, there is a noticeable dissonance between perception and reality among Malaysians.
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“Whereby about 32% believed that it is unlikely that they have been a victim, while 18% see it as possible, and 17% are confident their identity remains untouched,” it said.
Moreover, FICO said only 7% of Malaysian respondents reported their stolen identity being used to open a financial account, an increase from nearly 6% in 2022.
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“However, given Malaysia’s adult population, this 7% translates to over 1.6 million individuals,” it said.
Interestingly, this rate was much higher in other countries surveyed, with 13% of Indians and 12% of Thais saying their identity had been stolen and used to open an account by a fraudster.
“Hence, fraud protection is paramount, with ease of use and good fraud protection ranking as top considerations for selecting financial services providers,” it said.
These were both considered significantly more important than good customer service, strong anti-money laundering policies, sound green/environmental policies, ethical use of customer data, behaving fairly, and good value for money.
The survey was conducted in November 2023 with 1,000 Malaysian adults surveyed, along with approximately 12,000 other consumers in Canada, the US, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the UK and Spain.
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