A survey by the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) has indicated that scam awareness alerts sent by banks are effective in helping to thwart fraudsters and protect bank customers. This was revealed in the Perception Survey On Financial Scams, which sought to gauge Malaysians’ overall understanding and awareness of scams in the country.

The survey also noted that there is a positive link between scam education and the prevention of scams, where four out of five customers who successfully avoided scams also said that they actively read scam alerts from their banks. This essentially kept them updated on the latest scam tactics.

Additionally, the survey found that almost 80% of respondents believe that scams happen mainly because victims unintentionally reveal their banking information to fraudsters, and not because of breaches in banking systems. Approximately 70% of them also said that they are satisfied with banks’ current efforts in creating awareness about financial scams.

More than half of the respondents further feel that they are capable of managing financial scams; those who frequently read the scam awareness alerts sent to them are shown to be 15% more prepared in the face of scams. The alerts also seem to be effective as most respondents are able to accurately identify different scam types and tactics, scoring more than 60% on average for 11 scam types – including phone scams and malware scams.

Furthermore, 76% of those polled said that they are most interested in learning more about scam prevention. In particular, the respondents indicated that they are most receptive to alerts shared via online banking websites and sent through push notifications on mobile banking apps, as compared to those delivered through SMSes, emails, and social media posts.

Other notable findings include potential areas of improvement that banks can work on, particularly in providing sufficient information to customers who are not able to access anti-scam materials easily. These include the elderly and the less technologically savvy.

Chairman of ABM, Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli said that scammers are constantly updating their methods, adjusting their tactics to suit current banking or shopping trends – which makes it challenging for banks to fight them. Despite that, all financial institutions in Malaysia are committed to the cause, and will strive to enhance their security measures on a regular basis and roll out national scam awareness campaigns to educate the masses.

“We know from the survey that 63% have had close contact with financial scams, either having been a victim or know 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 arming our customers with the necessary scam knowledge and tools in fostering a more resilient and empowered banking community against scams,” said Dato’ Khairussaleh.

ABM’s Perception Survey On Financial Scams – which polled over 1,200 individuals in total – was conducted between June to July 2023 by Rakuten Insights.

• TAGS:
• Association of Banks in Malaysia
• Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM)
• Dato' Khairussaleh Ramli
• Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli
• Financial Scams
• Perception Survey On Financial Scams
• Surveys