Identity theft in banking puts South Africans in danger

Even though there have been a lot of warnings and steps taken to protect customers, identity theft in South Africa keeps getting worse. Reports say that somewhere in the world, someone's identity is stolen every two seconds.

Recent numbers from the National Council on Identity Theft Protection in the United States show that identity theft will cost Americans about $6 billion in 2021. In the same year, the Federal Trade Commission got 5.7 million complaints about fraud and identity theft. One-quarter of those complaints were about identity theft.

It is thought that identity theft costs South Africa's economy more than R1.5 billion each year. Identity theft affects almost everyone, either directly or indirectly, at some point.

The rising tide

Digital transactions were growing even before the COVID-19 epidemic forced people online during the early severe lockdowns. Now that the health effects of the coronavirus have passed, more people are using online platforms to shop, bank, and do business. The value of online transactions around the world is in the billions and growing.

Fraudsters, hackers, and organized criminal groups are after the money and are working harder than ever to get their hands on the personal information and identities of their victims.

Identity theft is not always caused by carelessness on the part of the customer. There are definitely people and criminal groups that go after specific people, but there are also bots and algorithms that look for weaknesses to take advantage of.

Switching from a physical identity to a digital identity has many benefits, such as being more efficient and open to everyone. According to research, a strong digital identity may help the user have more control over their data, protect their privacy, make online transactions safer, and make them less afraid to do business online.

Technology of today

Financial institutions are quickly realizing how important it is to use modern biometric verification technology to protect themselves and their customers from identity theft, money laundering fraud, regulatory penalties, and damage to their reputations.

People who aren't as tech-savvy and bank customers haven't been willing to use biometrics to get online. When customers realize that biometric onboarding gives them an extra layer of security against fraud and identity theft, they are much more likely to agree to it.

When people realized that biometric verification technology made their cyber security better, the number of people who used it at one bank went up by 100%.

Peace of mind and safety

Because of the focus on stopping illegal funding and money laundering around the world, onboarding in financial services and wealth management is becoming more important. Biometric verification is being used more for safety and security in South Africa's financial sector, especially in the banking industry.

Businesses use high-quality biometric solutions that are ready to use right away. M2SYS is a well-known company in the United States that offers accurate and cost-effective biometric turnkey solutions.

The need and necessity for governments and organizations that haven't fully adopted digital biometric identity verification to do so is growing. There are both local and global efforts to get people to use this game-changing technology. Verified proof of identification will become more common in online safety and security because it protects the integrity of organizations and people, as well as their financial activities.

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