2 in 5 Filipinos name fraud protection as top priority when opening new financial account

About 4.5% of those surveyed have been victims of identity theft.

Two in five Filipino adults aid that a good fraud and scam protection is their top consideration when looking to open a new financial account, according to FICO.

In a survey of 1,000 Filipino adults conducted in early August, indicated wariness with identity theft. Indeed, 4.5% of those surveyed shared that they have been victims of identity theft.

Another 6% of responders expressed concern that their identity has been used to open an account fraudulently.

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According to FICO, the concern surrounding identity theft indicate increasing awareness of scams related to it—making it pertinent that banks and financial firms adopt the right tools to safeguard their clients’ data.

“This is a significant opportunity and shows that good fraud protection can be a bank’s biggest sales asset rather than just an overhead,” said CK Leo, FICO’s lead for fraud, security and financial crime in Asia Pacific.

At the same time, the surveyed also indicated that they are also aware of more frequent fraud checks conducted by banks to try and protect them against identity theft, account takeover and card fraud. Over 6 in 10 or 61% of respondents noted that identity checks have increased when making online purchases.

Almost 6 in 10, or 56% added that they have experienced more identity checks when they log into accounts.