BANKS under the ambit of the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) recently launched the refreshed #JanganKenaScam national awareness campaign in October 2023 to foster scam awareness among the public and ensure a wide reach of scam education in both urban and suburban localities.
From Nov 15 to 19, the public can visit the #JanganKenaScam Fest roadshow at 1 Utama Shopping Centre (Oval Concourse) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, for an immersive experience and scam simulation exercises to learn about scams in a fun way.
Visitors who successfully complete all activities at the experiential booths will stand a chance to win exclusive #JanganKenaScam merchandise.
Fans of brand ambassador Hairul Azreen and content creators Arwind Kumar, Amelia Henderson and Ceddy can get to meet them in meet-and-greet sessions on selected days.
“We urge the public to visit the interactive booths to learn more about scams so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones from fraudsters,” says AIBIM President Datuk Mohd Muazzam Mohamed.
“Through these educational activities, attendees can ask questions, seek clarification and gain anti-scam knowledge to fight scams and ensure their banking safety.”
Survey: Four out of five customers who managed to avoid scams also read scam alerts
Scam awareness alerts by banks have proven effective in foiling fraudsters and protecting bank customers, according to a survey to gauge scam understanding and awareness among customers.
The survey findings show that there is a positive correlation between scam education and prevention of scams, with four out of five customers who successfully avoided scams having actively read scam alerts from their banks, bringing them up-to-date on the latest scam tactics.
The Perception Survey on Financial Scams which was commissioned by the banking industry and conducted by Rakuten Insights from June to July 2023 brought to light encouraging statistics on respondents’ level of scam understanding and interesting insights on their views on financial scams:
> Close to 80% of the respondents believe that scams happen due to victims inadvertently revealing their banking information to fraudsters and not due to any breach in banking systems.
> More than half of the respondents feel capable to manage and handle financial scams. In addition, those who always read and understand banks’ scam awareness alerts are shown to be 15% more prepared to fight scams.
> About 70% of the respondents are satisfied with the banks’ current efforts in creating awareness about financial scams.
When asked to, most respondents could successfully identify scam types and tactics, scoring well above 60% on average for 11 scam types, including popular scam modus operandi such as phone scam and malware scam.
Additionally, 76% of those polled revealed that scam prevention is the topic that they are most interested in.
“The evolution of scams present new challenges to banks and customers alike, as fraudsters adjust manipulation tactics to suit current banking or shopping trends,” says ABM Chairman Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli.
“In response to these dynamic challenges, banks have continued to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to protecting our customers’ financial well-being by introducing enhanced security measures regularly, on top of a national scam awareness campaign to educate the masses.
“We know from the survey that 63% have had close contact with financial scams, either having been a victim or known someone who was a victim.
“This shows the importance of taking scam education seriously. The public should always be vigilant and do not assume that they will not be targeted by scammers as scams do not discriminate against one’s age, gender or location.
“Banks will continue to arm our customers with the necessary scam knowledge and tools in fostering a more resilient and empowered banking community against scams,” he says.
The survey found that online banking websites and push notifications on mobile banking applications are the most effective channels to deliver scam alerts, compared to SMSes, email and social media posts.
With more customers embracing digitalisation in their everyday lives and becoming increasingly comfortable to bank via digital platforms, usage on these channels has grown – making banking websites and applications the natural choice to disseminate scam messages.
About 1,200 bank customers took part in the survey, which also highlighted potential areas of improvement for banks, particularly in providing sufficient information to selected customer segments who may not have ready access to anti-scam materials, such as the elderly and the less technologically savvy.
The #JanganKenaScam campaign aims to help individuals understand how they can assert control over their own financial safety.
By providing practical guidance and tips, the campaign empowers attendees to make informed decisions and be better prepared to protect themselves against the ever-present threat of scams.
This initiative signifies a collective effort to bolster scam awareness and resilience within the community, ultimately fostering a safer and more secure financial landscape for all.
For more information on the #JanganKenaScam awareness campaign and upcoming #JanganKenaScam Fest event dates, go to www.jangankenascam.com.
