Search By : Zainal Abidin Ahmad | Account Asistant Internal Audit Division UPM

 

More than half of Malaysians (55 per cent) believe that it is not a problem or common for people to exaggerate their income in loan applications, significantly higher than the global average of 39 per cent.

In fact, more than one in six (18 per cent) Malaysians believe that it is common for people to deliberately misrepresent their income information when applying for a mortgage.

However, almost half (49 per cent) of respondents believe that falsifying insurance claims is seen as a highly prohibited form of fraud and believe that this practice is unacceptable.

Global analytics software leader FICO, through its latest global consumer fraud research, has revealed alarming attitudes towards first-party financial fraud globally and in the Malaysian market.

According to FICO, three in five Malaysians believe that it is common or acceptable in some cases to misrepresent their income information in bank account applications (66 per cent), automotive financing (64 per cent), or mortgages (59 per cent).

"Many Malaysians are comfortable with exaggerating income information in their personal loan applications, further complicating financial integrity.

"About a third (36 percent) of Malaysian consumers believe that exaggerating income information in personal loan applications is completely unacceptable, while another third (37 percent) find it acceptable under certain conditions.

"About one in six respondents view exaggerating income information in personal loan, mortgage and car loan applications as common and acceptable behavior," he said in a statement.

Aashish Sharma, APAC segment leader for risk lifecycle and decision management at FICO, said Malaysian banks are facing the threat of 'loan fraud' with more than half of Malaysian consumers viewing falsifying income information as either acceptable or justified.

"It is important for Malaysian consumers to understand that misrepresenting income information, even unintentionally, can have serious consequences," he said.

According to him, the attitudes shown by Malaysian consumers differ significantly from those shown by consumers around the world.

This is because the survey revealed that the majority of consumers (56 percent) strongly reject the idea of ​​exaggerating income information in loan applications and consider this to be completely unacceptable.

 

Date of Input: 27/02/2025 | Updated: 25/04/2025 | muhammad.isam