SMU Assistant Professor of Finance Yu Yang co-authored a study last February which examined the relationship between US bank branch closures and incidents of online fraud and identity theft. The report revealed that for every US bank branch that closed, the number of reported identity theft cases increased by an average of more than 163. Identity theft is the most common data privacy issue, encompassing crimes such as credit card fraud and unauthorised access to bank accounts. Regarding the relevance of this study to the situation in Singapore, Asst Prof Yu pointed out that the banking mechanisms discussed in the report also exist in Singapore, but the degree of influence may be different. She said that branches provide security through face-to-face interaction, where employees may detect suspicious signs and potentially stop a fraud just by asking one more question.
*Related Research: Grand Theft Identity: The Privacy Costs of Digitalization (working paper)