Indonesian Concerns Over Identity Theft Persist Despite Growing Real-Time Payment Risks, FICO Survey Finds
FICO, a leading global analytics software firm, today unveiled its latest global consumer fraud research, spotlighting the enduring concern of Indonesians over identity theft amidst the escalating risks posed by real-time payments. The study reveals that identity theft (36%) remains the predominant worry among Indonesians, exposing individuals to various risks, including financial loss, compromised credit scores, and the arduous process of restoring financial integrity.
In contrast, concern over authorized push payment scams is notably less pronounced in Indonesia compared to other ASEAN countries and India. According to the research, only 28% of Indonesian respondents expressed worry about authorized push payment scams, significantly lower than the Asia average of 33%.
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“This disparity can be attributed to Indonesia’s recent introduction of real-time payment mechanisms in January 2022, limiting the exposure of Indonesian consumers to such scams, unlike their counterparts in other regions where real-time payments are more established,” said C K Leo, FICO’s lead for fraud, security and financial crime in Asia Pacific. “However, as real-time payment adoption grows rapidly, there is a growing risk of authorized push payment fraud, underscoring the importance for financial institutions to implement robust fraud detection and prevention measures swiftly.”
Perception vs. Reality
Despite widespread concern about identity theft, there is a noticeable dissonance between perception and reality among Indonesians. About 45% believe it unlikely they’ve been a victim, while 21% see it as possible, and 16% are confident their identity remains untouched.
Moreover, only 3% of Indonesian respondents reported their stolen identity being used to open a financial account, a decline from nearly 10% in 2022. However, given Indonesia’s adult population, this 3% translates to over 6 million individuals. 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 fraudste.
“While some may downplay the risk of identity theft in Indonesia, millions remain vulnerable,” added Leo. “This underscores the need for heightened awareness and proactive measures. By breaking down silos and integrating identity verification and fraud detection processes, we can streamline applications and bolster trust in legitimate customers.”
Real-Time Payment Scams: A Growing Concern
As the incidence of scams continues to rise, FICO’s research from last year uncovered a troubling trend concerning authorized push payment (APP) fraud and real-time payments in Indonesia. 64% of Indonesians have received unsolicited text messages, emails, phone calls, or other outreach that they believed to be part of a scam, while 49% of respondents stated that their friends or family members had been victims of a scam.
Shockingly, 17% of respondents admitted to sending real-time payments for investments, goods, or services they never received. Additionally, 71% of those who made scam payments through real-time payments lost up to 5 million rupiah, while 4% experienced losses of up to 100 million rupiah. Despite these alarming figures, only 19% reported actual or suspected losses to their banks.
“Banks now face a crucial moment to invest in cutting-edge solutions to tackle the surge in scams, particularly with the swift uptake of real-time payments in the Asia-Pacific financial landscape,” said Leo. “The irrevocable nature of these transactions has led to new criminal threats. By integrating scam- specific analysis and scoring into transactions, along with robust decision-making capabilities across the customer journey, banks can preemptively detect and thwart scam payments, sparing customers from financial harm. Furthermore, while some consumers may ignore warnings, the majority will heed alerts and refrain from making real-time payments if alerted to potential scams.”
Indonesians Prioritise Good Fraud Protection
When asked about the most important considerations respondents have when they select a new provider for a financial account, ease of use and good fraud protection were the two most important. 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.
Even in Indonesia, where good fraud protection was less likely to be people’s number one concern, 63% of people had ranked it as a top three consideration.
The survey was conducted in November 2023 by an independent research company adhering to research industry standards. 1,000 Indonesian adults were surveyed, along with approximately 12,000 other consumers in Canada, U.S, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, U.K. and Spain.
