A new GSMA study found that 45 percent of reported scam cases across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam remain unresolved even as consumers become more vigilant about protecting themselves online.
The findings come as increasingly sophisticated scams powered by AI make it more difficult for consumers and businesses to distinguish legitimate digital interactions from fraudulent ones.
Trust deficit
The GSMA ASEAN Consumer Scam Report 2026 found that 8 percent of consumers surveyed had been scammed in the previous 12 months.
Among victims, 68 percent lost money. Of those who suffered financial losses, 82 percent recovered none of their money, while only 10 percent were able to recover everything they lost.
While 69 percent of scam victims reported their cases, 45 percent of reported cases remained unresolved.
The impact extends beyond the money lost. Consumers with unresolved cases reported lower trust in communications channels, digital platforms and data sharing, prompting some to change the way they interact with digital services and incoming communications.
Scam victims were also more than twice as likely to switch accounts or service providers compared with consumers who had not been scammed.
Growing concern
The study found that 96 percent of consumers worry about being scammed or hacked, while nearly nine in 10 recognized at least one way AI could be used in scams.
Messaging apps have emerged as the most common channel for scams, accounting for 41 percent of scam experiences.
Scam activity is also increasingly shifting toward investment, cryptocurrency, online shopping and job schemes in which victims are persuaded to transfer money themselves.
The findings were presented at the Digital Trust Summit during M360 ASEAN in Kuala Lumpur alongside a second GSMA report examining how trust could shape the region’s broader digital transformation.
The Digital Nations 2026: Building Trusted Digital Ecosystems in ASEAN report said trust has become a strategic requirement as Southeast Asian countries expand digital government services, adopt AI and pursue greater cross-border digital integration.
Beyond access
GSMA head of Asia Pacific Julian Gorman said expanding access to digital services was no longer enough.
“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,” Gorman said.
He said governments, mobile operators, digital platforms, financial institutions and other stakeholders would have to work together to verify identities, authenticate communications and prevent fraud before consumers are harmed.
The GSMA said AI is changing the threat landscape by enabling more sophisticated phishing attacks, deepfakes, voice cloning and digital impersonation.
These technologies are making authentication increasingly important as criminals become better at mimicking legitimate individuals, companies and institutions.
Four foundations
The Digital Nations report identified four foundations for building digital trust: identity, communications, resilient networks and collective intelligence.
Identity involves verifying people and organizations online, while trusted communications require users to have confidence that digital interactions are authentic.
Resilient networks cover infrastructure and cybersecurity capabilities needed to keep services secure and available. Collective intelligence involves sharing trusted information across organizations to identify threats and strengthen digital systems.
Mobile operators, traditionally viewed primarily as connectivity providers, are increasingly playing a role in these areas through identity verification, network security, authentication, fraud prevention and intelligence sharing.
The GSMA said stronger cooperation among ASEAN governments, regulators, telecommunications companies, financial institutions and digital platforms could amplify national anti-fraud efforts and improve the region’s ability to respond to emerging threats.
Without that confidence, the group warned, ASEAN’s expanding digital infrastructure may not automatically translate into greater adoption, innovation and investment.
For the region’s digital ambitions to deliver their promised economic benefits, consumers will have to trust not only that they can connect—but that the people and organizations on the other end are who they claim to be. — Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
