Multinational consumer credit reporting company Experian will extend its partnership with CyberSecurity Malaysia to empower Malaysians to protect their identity online.

Experian has launched TrackMyID, an identity theft monitoring tool, to help Malaysian consumers track their digital identities that may have been compromised or sold on the dark web.

With this tool, users will be alerted on the type of information that has been accessed, such as email address, source of breach, and additional information detected.

They will then be directed to take the necessary steps to protect themselves and minimise any damage that has been done.

Consumers can use the report from TrackMyID to lodge an official report at CyberSecurity Malaysia’s Cyber999 help center.

Despite improvements in technology, cybercriminals have found it easier to gain unauthorised access to consumer’s online accounts. The lack of strong security applications has caused users to not to realise that their data has been compromised.

This may be more prevalent amongst social media users as compared to those who are not active on these platforms. With this in mind, the dark web remains the prime marketplace to buy and sell personal information, including stolen identities and credit card details.

Globally, Experian has found 3.4 billion compromised personal records in the first 8 months of 2021, compared to 5.1 billion in 2020, while in a recent Experian 2021 Global Identity and Fraud Report, 33 percent of consumers said they are concerned about identity theft since the start of the pandemic.

Experian Global CyberAgent data revealed a 76.6 percent rise in newly compromised personal records found in the dark web over the last 18 months.

Considering this, cybercrimes reported in Malaysia are expected to increase this year based on the number of cases reported in the first quarter.

According to CyberSecurity Malaysia’s Cyber999 Incident Statistics 2021, 319 identity theft cases were reported in Malaysia so far (Jan-Aug 2021), with a total of 517 in 2020.

Dawn Lai, CEO, Experian Information Services Malaysia shared,

“As we become increasingly savvy about digital activities, safe digital transactions will form the foundation of a productive and secure remote financial ecosystem. As consumers, we must take proactive steps together to monitor and protect our digital identities as cyber threats are increasing and evolving. These measures will provide safeguards for us to navigate the new digital economy with trust and confidence.”