45% of reported Southeast Asian scam cases unresolved – report

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

KUALA LUMPUR — Nearly half of the scam incidents consumers reported in six Southeast Asian markets remain unresolved, and new GSMA findings show this is undermining digital trust across the region.

The findings come from two GSMA reports launched on Sept. 9 at the Digital Trust Summit at M360 ASEAN. Both describe digital trust as a critical enabler of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) digital ambitions, and both call for coordinated action to strengthen confidence in digital interactions.

As ASEAN speeds up its digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital government plans, digital trust is becoming a critical factor in whether citizens, businesses and governments can confidently use digital services. The reports warn that online scams, fraud and digital deception are putting that trust under growing strain and could undermine progress toward broader digital ambitions.

The first report, the GSMA ASEAN Consumer Scam Report 2026, found that 45% of reported scam cases across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam remain unresolved, even as consumers take more steps to protect themselves.

Consumers whose cases remain unresolved reported lower trust in communications channels, digital platforms and data sharing. Many have also changed how they use digital services and respond to inbound communications.

Nearly one in 10 consumers surveyed, or 8%, said they had been scammed in the previous 12 months.

Among scam victims, 68% lost money. Of those who lost money, 82% recovered none of it, 8% got part of it back, and only 10% recovered all of their losses.

Consumers who have been scammed are more than twice as likely as those who have not to switch accounts or service providers. Among victims, 25% moved money or changed their bank, e-wallet or mobile operator, compared with 11% of those who were not affected.

The second report, Digital Nations 2026: Building Trusted Digital Ecosystems in ASEAN, argues that trust has become a strategic enabler of ASEAN’s digital future.

Countries across the region are advancing digital economy strategies, AI adoption, digital government programs and cross-border digital integration. The report says confidence in digital infrastructure, services and institutions increasingly determines whether that digitalization leads to adoption, innovation, investment and socioeconomic impact.

The report adds that emerging technologies are changing the nature of digital trust itself. AI is enabling more sophisticated phishing attacks, deepfakes, voice cloning, and digital impersonation, making it harder for individuals and organizations to tell legitimate interactions from fraudulent ones.

As a result, the report says, digital trust increasingly depends on the ecosystem’s ability to verify identities, authenticate communications, strengthen resilience and share trusted intelligence to prevent harm before it occurs.

Speaking at the summit, Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, said: “Access alone is no longer enough. As ASEAN’s digital economies become more sophisticated, people must have confidence that digital services are secure, reliable and accountable.

The findings from these reports show that digital trust is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for digital participation, innovation and growth.

Countries that build confidence in digital infrastructure, services and institutions will be better placed to realize their digital ambitions. This will require governments, mobile operators, digital platforms, financial institutions and other stakeholders to work together to verify identities, authenticate communications and prevent fraud before harm occurs.”

Consumers take more steps as trust erodes

The consumer scam report found that 96% of consumers worry about being scammed or hacked, and 93% have taken at least one protective step.

All eight protective behaviors measured rose this year. Strengthening account security was the most common step, rising from 50% to 58% of consumers surveyed. Changing or limiting contact details rose from 35% to 41%.

Two-thirds of consumers, or 66%, have changed their behavior because of scams, and 60% of those have never been scammed themselves.

Trust in inbound contact is also under pressure. Across the six markets surveyed, 56% of consumers now avoid calls, messages or transactions they did not start, so organizations that rely on outbound contact reach a shrinking share of their own customers.

Some 23% of consumers have cut back on online shopping, and 67% of them have never been scammed.

Nearly nine in 10 consumers recognized at least one form of AI being used in scams.

Messaging apps are now the most common channel for scams, accounting for 41% of the scam experiences consumers reported.

Across the region, more consumers now associate major digital platforms with scams.

Scam activity is shifting toward investment, cryptocurrency, online shopping, and job scams, in which consumers are persuaded to send the money themselves.

Of all victims, 69% took their case to an organization, most often a financial institution or the police. Among those who reported, 45% said their case was never resolved.

In the report’s media fact sheet, Gorman said: “Scams are more than a consumer protection issue. They affect how we communicate, how we transact, how we respond to legitimate organizations and how willing we are to share the data needed to protect them.”

How the six markets compare

In the Philippines, victims report scams to digital platforms three times as often as to the police: 49% went to a platform and 16% went to the police.

Social media was involved in 48% of Filipino victims’ scams, against 36% regionally. SMS was involved in 42%, against 30%.

In the Philippines, 76% of consumers say they are very worried about scams, the highest in ASEAN and well above the regional 59%.

Some 10% of Filipinos were scammed in the last 12 months, against 8% regionally and the second highest in ASEAN.

Investment and crypto scams affected 41% of Filipino victims, compared with a regional 29%.

A third of Filipinos, or 33%, have taken four or more protective actions, against a regional 28%. Another 62% avoid contact they did not start, the highest share in the region.

Only 45% of reported cases in the Philippines were resolved, against a regional 55%.

Victims in Vietnam are the most likely in the region to see their case resolved: 66% say it was, the highest in ASEAN, against 55%.

Vietnam also has the highest scam rate in ASEAN, with 13% of consumers scammed in the last 12 months against a regional 8%.

In Vietnam, 91% of consumers are aware of government anti-scam programs, against 73% regionally. Some 82% are comfortable letting the government hold their data, and 76% are comfortable letting their mobile operator do so.

Vietnam’s high scam rate sits alongside the highest trust in institutions, though the study does not explain the connection.

In Vietnam, 59% of victims lose money, the second lowest after Singapore. Online shopping and impersonation scams each affect 36% of victims, and voice calls were involved in 51% of scams, the highest in the region.

In Singapore, recognition of anti-scam work sits almost entirely with the state. Some 82% of Singaporeans are aware of government anti-scam programs, the second highest in ASEAN.

Awareness of telco programs in Singapore is 35%, and awareness of digital platform programs is 33%, both regional lows. Average awareness across the six organization types is 49%, against 66% regionally.

Singaporeans were the least likely to report taking extra protective steps: 11% reported no additional protective action, against a regional 7%.

Only 38% of Singaporeans say they are very worried, the lowest in ASEAN, against 59% regionally. Some 6% were scammed in the last 12 months, against 8%.

Unauthorized card charges affect 36% of Singaporean victims. Some 79% of victims report their case, the highest in the region against 69%, and half go to the police.

Malaysians ask more of banks, telcos and platforms than they are willing to let them do. While 75% say platforms are responsible for stopping scams, only 55% will let a platform use their data.

That 20-point gap compares with 16 points for telcos and 15 for government. Malaysia’s 16-point telco gap is the widest of any market in the region.

In Malaysia, 74% of victims lose money, against a regional 68%. Some 6% of Malaysians were scammed in the last 12 months, against 8%, and 65% say they are very worried, against 59%.

Unauthorized card charges and job scams each affect 33% of Malaysian victims. Messaging apps were involved in 51% of their scams, the highest in ASEAN.

In Thailand, worry has fallen from 67% last year to 48%. The country now has the region’s lowest scam rate, with 5% scammed in the last 12 months against a regional 8%.

Telco anti-scam programs in Thailand reach 78% of consumers, the highest in the region, against 65%.

Among Thai victims who reported their case, 65% say it was resolved, second only to Vietnam and above the regional 55%.

Job and income-opportunity scams affect 37% of Thai victims, and 35% were targeted by someone posing as the police, tax authorities or the courts. Voice calls were involved in 50% of their scams, against a regional 35%.

Thais take the fewest precautions, with 61% taking two or fewer actions, against a regional 52%.

Indonesians are the most self-reliant consumers in the region, and institutions are the least present. Only 4% have taken no protective action at all, the lowest in ASEAN, against a regional 7%.

In Indonesia, 5% of consumers were scammed in the last 12 months, among the lowest in ASEAN, against 8%. Awareness of government anti-scam programs is 50%, against a regional 73%.

Only 52% of Indonesian victims report to any organization, the lowest in ASEAN, against 69%. Some 17% take a case to the police, against a regional 36%, and 39% of those who reported say their case was resolved, against 55%.

Prize, lottery and inheritance scams affect 38% of Indonesian victims, and online shopping scams affect 35%. Some 61% of Indonesians avoid contact they did not start, against a regional 56%.

About the survey

The survey was conducted online among 3,000 adults, 500 in each of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Milieu Insight did the fieldwork in August 2026, and this is the third annual study.

The survey covered six ASEAN markets, not all 10 ASEAN member states, and its regional figures are the average across those six.

In the study, “scammed” means self-reported within the past 12 months, whether or not money was lost. “Resolved” is the victim’s own account of the outcome, not case data held by any organization.

Victims could name more than one scam type and named 2.9 on average, so the scam-type shares for each market add up to more than 100%.

Mobile operators help build trusted digital ecosystems

The Digital Nations 2026 report identifies four interconnected foundations of digital trust. The first is identity, the ability to verify people and organizations in digital environments. The second is communications, meaning confidence in the authenticity and integrity of digital interactions.

The other two foundations are resilient networks and collective intelligence. Resilient networks are the infrastructure and cybersecurity capabilities that keep digital services available and secure. Collective intelligence is the creation, sharing and use of trusted information to strengthen the security, resilience and integrity of digital systems.

The report says strengthening these foundations requires coordination among governments, regulators, mobile operators, financial institutions, digital platforms and other ecosystem participants.

Mobile operators have traditionally been seen as connectivity providers. The report says they now contribute to all four foundations through identity verification, network security, fraud prevention, authentication services and trusted intelligence-sharing initiatives, helping governments, businesses and citizens across ASEAN take part more safely and confidently in the digital economy.

The report adds that deeper regional collaboration can amplify the impact of national initiatives, helping countries learn from one another, strengthen resilience and build greater confidence in ASEAN’s digital transformation.

The Digital Trust Summit at M360 ASEAN brought together leaders from government, industry and international organizations to discuss how ASEAN can strengthen trust in digital interactions and build more secure, resilient and inclusive digital ecosystems. Delegates heard from speakers representing mobile network operators, Google, Meta, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Mastercard and governments from across the region.