plausible deniability? why commit the crime yourself when you can have someone else do it for you? also, the loan would probably only be offered to a US citizen while the scammers were most likely not.

after reading about it, it sounds like a pretty good operation

Also if the bank requires any KYC process, she'll probably go through with it thinking that it's part of the "external test."

Maybe specifically to make it more shameful to make it less likely to be reported?

What makes it even _less_ likely is not bringing in a third party at all.

I too do not understand the angle here vs the crooks just doing it themselves.

If you don't bring any 3rd party, that mean more direct exposure for yourself

For the same reason people who steal credit card numbers sell them rather than use them, why illegal drug distributors don't sell to users directly, and mob bosses don't rob people: They can probably do the same thing at the same time with multiple people, and it reduces their risk exposure. If 10 different people open up a bank account with stolen credentials, the bank has to detect fraud 10 different times. If one person opens up 10 bank accounts with stolen credentials, they're way more likely to catch onto a subtle pattern.

I can only guess, but my best guess is that one crucial part is performing the ID validation, which involves joining a video call with a company that partners with the bank.