Identity Fraud: What Is it and How to Overcome It
BANDAR SUNWAY – Identity fraud (also known as identity theft or crime) occurs when someone uses another individual’s personal information without consent, often to obtain personal gain. The perpetrator may commit identity fraud by using the victim’s identity to open a bank account, get a credit card, apply for a passport or conduct illegal activities.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a drastic increase of time spent online by consumers and has made them heavily rely on digital capabilities for work and personal means. Consequently, this opened more opportunities for fraud activities that are also getting harder to detect as many consumers are still unaware of the various scams that are present online and how to safeguard themselves from them.
Cybercrimes involving the theft of personal data, such as identity fraud, have a significant impact on the lives of everyday Malaysians. According to CyberSecurity Malaysia’s MyCERT Incident Statistics 2021, 319 identity theft cases have been reported in Malaysia from January to August 2021, with a total of 517 in 2020.
How does identity fraud happen?
A person’s identity can be stolen and misused if a thief accesses their personal information, including from any document that contains information about them. Even if a thief only accesses a small amount of one’s personal information, they may still be able to steal a person’s identity if they can dig up more information from public sources.
Here are some of the ways criminals can steal your personal information:
· Phishing: Identity thieves may email intended victims, hoping to trick the recipient into doing something that might give them access to significant amounts of victims’ personal information.
· Malware: Using the lure of seemingly innocent websites, identity thieves may attempt to trick their potential victims into downloading freewares from the Internet. What the victims might not realise is that the freeware can include malicious software, or malware, that can give the criminals access to the victims’ computers or entire networks.
· Low-tech tactics: Even without the somewhat sophisticated skills required for a technology-based attack, criminals can still commit identity fraud. Two simple ways identity thieves can get their hands on documents containing people’s personal information are through mail theft and dumpster diving.
How to overcome it?
Whether we like it or not, our personal data is everywhere, and providing information like passwords and account numbers to access online accounts is something many people do on a daily basis. Unfortunately, whenever we supply our personal data, we are taking some level of risk that a criminal could steal and misuse it. But there are ways to reduce the likelihood of identity fraud and help protect one’s personal details. These include:
• Always secure your wireless network connection
• Install an anti-virus or malware protection software
• Remain vigilant on websites that are prone to phishing
• Monitor your credit profile via credit reports
• Only conduct financial transactions at safe and secured websites
• Be mindful when sharing personal information anywhere online
• Ensure that any type of bills and statements arrive in a consistent manner
• Make sure to always check your statements for any unusual transactions
• Dispose of your documents carefully (shred or tear them into small pieces before throwing them)
How does WISE AI prevent identity fraud with AI?
As the whole world is moving towards digitalisation, it is now more important than ever to equip ourselves with the necessary knowledge on high-tech solutions which includes facial recognition e-KYC services, which today have become more common in our everyday lives.
More and more companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies such as deep-learning-based techniques to develop more secure authentication approaches, and facial recognition plays an important role in this effort. It provides a powerful way to protect a person’s data and provides effective fraud prevention measures.
Besides security, facial recognition technology plays a key role in this ‘know your customer’ (KYC) era whereby businesses are able to understand the demands of their target market better. Furthermore, it is able to provide a better customer experience through smooth transactions and results in lower operating costs compared to traditional methods.
Therefore, it is only natural for businesses and even governments to start investing in facial recognition because the truth of the matter is, it makes life so much easier.
WISE AI mainly uses our facial recognition systems to facilitate e-KYC services such as customer onboarding for the telecommunications and BFSI industry (banking, financial services, and insurance).
With our face-based ID verification solution, WISE eKYC110, the KYC process can be shortened by up to 95%. With our high accuracy recognition models, eKYC110 offers instant identity verification, helping to prevent fraud and identity theft while providing a seamless onboarding experience.
Another solution of ours, WISE Digital ID, is a singular ID to access services by using your face ID on your phone. This digital identity app gives you a simple, fast and secure way of proving who you are online and in person. Our digital identity solution keeps you safe and secure from identity theft, fraud, and data breaches.
Here at WISE AI, we are committed to empowering Malaysians to protect their identity online so that they can stay connected and active in the digital world with peace of mind.
About WISE AI
WISE AI is an award-winning Artificial Intelligence company specialising in digital identity technologies. We develop world-class emerging deep tech that is adopted by the government and multiple industries. Our AI-powered solutions include EKYC, digital ID, digital signature, and blockchain. Our technology is optimised for the recognition of ASEAN faces.
Read more on our website.
