SCAMS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
On Tuesday, Mr Tan also announced that Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, will be providing US$5 million (S$6.4 million) in funding to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foundation to expand online scam prevention resources to 3 million people across the region.
This comes on the back of 63 per cent of adults in the region claiming that they had experienced a scam in the last 12 months, according to GASA's latest Southeast Asia report.
Respondents above 18 from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines were quizzed through an online survey about the type of scams they experienced and the amount they lost over the 12-month period.
The study found a 66 per cent increase in scam experiences in Singapore, compared with a 73 per cent increase in Malaysia and a 77 per cent increase in Vietnam.
Investment scams were the most common type of scam experienced by those surveyed, followed by unexpected money - where victims are asked to pay up front to receive money or a prize - and impersonation scams.
Scam encounters in Southeast Asia took place most frequently on Facebook (53 per cent) and WhatsApp (51 per cent).
An estimated US$23.6 billion was lost to scammers in Southeast Asia in the past 12 months. Respondents from Singapore, in particular, lost more than US$2,000 per person on average – the highest among the six countries surveyed.
That said, scam reporting and financial recovery of losses were more common in Singapore than in the other Southeast Asian countries.
Commenting on the report, GASA's managing director Jorij Abraham said that online scams were not just a "consumer inconvenience" but also a global security challenge that undermines digital trust and economic resilience.
"Criminal networks are moving faster than our protections, but it is possible to close the gap," he added.
"GASA's mission is to provide the infrastructure and partnership needed to close this gap - uniting efforts across sectors and borders to build a stronger, collective defence."
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