According to a recent survey commissioned by The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM), there is now a significant increase in the awareness and understanding of scams and their respective modus operandi among customers, resulting in a higher rate of successful scam avoidance. 

This is the second installment of the public survey since ABM and AIBIM launched the #JanganKenaScam campaign. 

This survey, which was commissioned in March 2024, titled The Public Opinion on Scam Survey highlighted distinct statistics on respondents’ rising level of scam awareness and compelling insights on customers’ attitudes towards banks’ scam awareness communications. 

A total of 1,000 respondents, who are customers of 20 banks, participated in the Survey. 

Key findings from the Survey are as below: 

• 63% of respondents indicated that they had high recall of the #JanganKenaScam awareness campaign, recording a 9% uplift from the results of the previous survey, with 80% lauding the clear and coherent anti-scam messaging and tagline of the campaign. 
• 81% of respondents who attended #JanganKenaScam events held by ABM expressed that they gained useful knowledge in handling scam situations better, with 95% indicating they would likely attend again. 
• There was a 10% rise in respondents who expressed belief in banks’ ability to protect customers from scams, with the percentage of respondents now increasing to 63%. 
• More than 50% of respondents noted that they have interacted with banks’ communication efforts, while 69% of respondents contended that Malaysian banks’ performance in spreading awareness was effective, denoting that customers were more appreciative of banks’ overall communication efforts. 

The Survey also revealed how customers’ habits and preferences for receiving scam awareness communications from their chosen banks have evolved, reflecting the embrace of digitalisation in their daily lives and increasing comfort levels with banking via digital platforms. 

Banking apps remained customers’ most trusted mode of communication with 68% of respondents ranking push notifications from the banking app in their top three, followed by e-mails which emerged a close second with 55% of respondents ranking it in similar terms. 

When asked about how well they recalled scam awareness messaging from banks, 47% of respondents recalled viewing these messages on the banks’ respective social media platforms, indicating a 13% increase from the results of the previous survey. 

Meanwhile, 44% of respondents recalled receiving these messages through push notifications from the banking app and reminders on the online banking website. 

“Banks remain steadfast in our commitment to educate customers on the latest knowledge on financial scams through a national scam awareness campaign while strengthening safeguards against financial scams through enhanced security measures. 

"Our customers’ financial well-being remains at the core of all our initiatives, and we aim to arm customers with the necessary tools and resources to protect themselves from scams, fostering awareness and building resiliency,” said ABM Chairman Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli. 

When questioned about the root causes of scams, 72% of respondents opined that scams usually occur as a result of victims mistakenly revealing their private banking details.

ABM urges customers to be aware of scams that target users especially on digital platforms, where scammers commonly use social engineering tactics to manipulate users into clicking malicious links or divulging confidential information such as online banking credentials. 

Customers can protect themselves from scams by doing the following: 

• Never click on hyperlinks from unknown numbers 
• Never download any apps from links, especially on messaging apps such as Telegram and WhatsApp. Only download apps from official app stores such as Apple App Store and Google PlayStore 
• Never share your banking username and password with anyone, including friends and family members 
• Never entertain phone calls or messages from unknown mobile phone numbers 

ABM, AIBIM and their member banks will continue working closely with law enforcement agencies, government bodies and financial regulators including Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), as well as stakeholders such as CyberSecurity Malaysia to remind customers to exercise caution while conducting financial transactions. 

Individuals should report any suspicious activities to their respective banks, or contact the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) through the NSRC hotline at 997. 

The banking industry urges customers to exercise vigilance against scammers impersonating NSRC officers and reminds customers to immediately hang up if they receive suspicious calls from individuals claiming to be NSRC officers, as NSRC does not make any outbound calls and only receives calls from the public. - KitaReporters/Kenyataan Media