Why Confidence in Spotting Scams Does Not Stop Losses in Asia

A phone call or a text message is where most scams in Asia begin, and confidence in spotting them does little to stop what happens next. According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, 71% of adults surveyed across 13 Asian markets encountered a scam in the past year, and the combined losses across those markets are estimated at US$136.5 billion.

The survey, carried out with Whoscall and covering 17,460 adults, found that 66% of respondents said they were confident they could recognize a scam. That confidence did not translate into avoidance. Among those who encountered a scam, 62% went on to interact with it. Among those who interacted, 26% lost money.

The step the scam depends on

The sequence here matters more than any single figure. Recognizing a scam and acting on that recognition turn out to be two different skills, and the gap between them is where the money is lost. A person can believe they would spot a fake delivery text or a fraudulent investment call, and still pick up the phone, still reply to the message, still click through. The scam does not need to defeat someone's judgment about what a scam looks like. It only needs them to engage once that judgment is bypassed by curiosity, urgency or habit.

Phone calls were the most common channel through which respondents encountered scams, at 56%, ahead of text messages at 50% and instant messaging apps at 40%. In Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, more than six in ten respondents encountered scams through phone and text specifically. Jeff Kuo, CEO of Gogolook, which operates Whoscall, said scammers are now using AI-generated voices and more convincing scripts, and are adapting to tighter SIM registration and identity checks by switching to international and satellite numbers.

Shopping, investment and employment scams were the three types respondents most commonly interacted with. Those categories share a structure: each offers something the person already wants, a product, a return, a job, which is part of why interaction happens even among people who consider themselves alert to scams generally.

What happens after the loss

Losing money was rarely a single event. Among respondents who lost money, 51% said it had happened to them more than once. The damage also extended past the financial figure. Among those who lost money, 72% reported an impact on their mental wellbeing, 77% experienced at least one emotional impact, and 58% experienced a financial impact that reached into everyday life.

The research is being released ahead of the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2026, held in Bangkok on 10 to 11 November, the first time the summit has been held in Thailand after previous editions in Taiwan and Singapore.