Kuala lumpur: Nearly half of reported scam cases across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam remain unresolved, despite consumers taking more steps to protect themselves, the GSMA ASEAN Consumer Scam Report 2026 showed on Wednesday.
According to Nam News Network, about 8 percent of consumers surveyed have been scammed in the past 12 months. Among the victims, 68 percent lost money, with 82 percent recovering none of their losses, while only 10 percent managed to recover all of their money. This report was launched at the Digital Trust Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Unresolved cases are eroding consumer trust in communication channels, digital platforms, and data sharing. Many are changing how they use digital services and respond to inbound communications. The report highlighted that messaging apps have emerged as the most common channel for scam encounters, accounting for 41 percent of reported scam experiences.
Consumers' association of major digital platforms with scams has increased across the region. The report also found that 96 percent of consumers worry about being scammed or hacked, while nearly nine in 10 recognize at least one form of AI being used in scams.
Scam activity is increasingly shifting towards investment, cryptocurrency, online shopping, and job scams, where victims are persuaded to transfer money themselves. Consumers who have experienced scams are more than twice as likely to switch accounts or service providers, according to the report.