2024 Scam Report: Malaysians are still susceptible to scams despite high awareness

PETALING JAYA, 22 JULY 2024 – The National Scam Awareness Survey 2024 report published by CelcomDigi Berhad (“CelcomDigi”) recently spotlighted compelling narratives of awareness, vulnerability, and the call for proactive actions to combat scams and fraudulent activities. It showed that Malaysia is progressing as a highly digitalised nation, as 91% of respondents frequently visit community internet centres to use a broad range of digital services. Given the high internet usage, Malaysians can be easily exposed to scam threats. This underscores the urgency in increasing digitalsafety measures to create a safe and trusted digital society.

CelcomDigi CEO Datuk Idham Nawawi said, “Today, while we enjoy the benefits of digital connectivity, we face a reality where scams and fraud have become one of the most pressing social epidemics today. CelcomDigi’s inaugural National Scam Awareness Survey 2024 report provides actionable data and insights that can guide more strategic and targeted measures to address scams and fraud. Guided by the report, we can address the gaps in mitigating this epidemic, strengthen trust, and foster a more secure digital environment for Malaysians.”

87% of the 10,893 polled nationwide, have become more aware of scams over the past year, and they were able to describe their experiences in detail and articulate the nature of scam they were confronted with. Respondents also acknowledged that exposing personal data can be weaponised against them and clicking unverified links is risky. Report showed:  

• 73% are aware of the risks of social sharing and exposing personal data;

• 65% indicated they would verify any links received before clicking them; whereas

• 52% would filter their personal data before sharing them.

These indicate that most respondents engage in basic practices to protect their personal data.  

However, two-thirds (66%) of them have encountered some form of scam attempts or situation. These attempts, numbering a staggering 17,912, shows that an individual can face numerous types of scams through various channels. The most common being voice phone calls (76%), where scammers pretended to be representatives or officers from banks, telecommunications companies or government departments. The attempted scam scenarios involve fake personnel:

• Asking respondents for their personal information (31%);

• Creating fear that respondents’ bank accounts have problems and threatened respondents to make a certain payment (23%);  

• Offering government assistance and asked for personal or banking details (23%).

The report also indicated a trend of scammers targeting victims with higher education and income level. Comparisons across demographic variables revealed that respondents with higher education levels experienced greater incidence of attempted scams than those who only had primary or secondary education, or those who earned monthly RM1,000 or less.  

Apart from public awareness on the types of scams and scam tactics, the survey also gauged Malaysians’ awareness on the 997 hotline of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) for scam reporting. It was found that 64% of the respondents were not aware that they could report scams via NSRC hotline. Additionally, awareness is lowest amongst those who are reportedly in financial distress, as 67% of those who indicate that their income is inadequate to cover monthly expenses also do not have knowledge of the NSRC hotline as a mechanism to report scams.

A critical step for victims of scams is to take swift corrective action. The report however, highlights that respondents may have a low level of resilience to scams, especially in terms of adopting preventive and mitigation actions:

• 52% blocked the phone numbers of scammer or suspected scammers;

• 32% informed family or friends; while

• 19% either closed their bank accounts, cancelled their credit cards or did nothing.  

In response to these findings, the report indicates an urgent need for a whole-of-society approach to proactively address this social epidemic. The recommendations include:

• At the national level – Increased scam awareness on multiple channels, and strengthening the role of NSRC to include broader dissemination of its services to the public and enable more Malaysians to benefit from its services;

• For the private sectors – To develop more innovative infrastructure to safeguard customers’ interests while including scam risk management into business strategy;

• Public-private partnerships to adopt a multi-pronged approach to create an ecosystem for a more strategic and holistic preventive measures.  

The report is part of CelcomDigi’s ongoing war against scams and fraudulent activities. It is available HERE and on social media platforms for the public.