This is the view of most financial institutions in the country, according to a report entitled “Future-proofing Fraud Prevention in Digital Channels”, which was launched today at a webinar.

The report by tech firm GBG said that aside from the rise in scams and increase in stolen identities, other fraudulent activities, from social engineering and first-party fraud to cyber attacks and money laundering, are also expected to increase.

The report also unveiled priorities in digitalisation and fraud technology adoption by local finance and banking organisations.

GBG Asia-Pacific managing director June Lee said that at least 60% of financial institutions in Malaysia have approved budgets to invest in cyber fraud solutions this year while 21% have started to lay the groundwork in establishing end-to-end fraud management platforms.

“Being agile in harnessing new fraud prevention technology will enable financial institutions to get ahead of escalating and fast-growing emerging fraud patterns and secure the digital trust of their customers,” she said.

However, the report pointed out that the ability of Malaysian financial institutions to manage fraud in the entire digital customer journey is yet to be on par with the pace of digitalisation.

According to the report, Macau scams accounted for RM49.9 million in financial losses across 1,001 cases during the movement control order between March and August.

The report was based on a survey of 324 respondents from financial institutions in six Asia-Pacific countries: Malaysia, Australia, China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.