While Internet accessibility in Asia continues to expand across tech devices and platforms, so too are the ways Internet scams infiltrate consumers’ personal information.

Work from home fraud, Internet auction scams and fake bank email scams are the top three scams in Asia, according to Telenor Group’s recent Internet scams study.

The multimarket survey assessed the impact of scams on 400 Internet users aged 18 up to over 65 in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India, and was conducted to provide a better understanding of the common online scams.

With 71 per cent of respondents admitting to being an Internet addict, the results show that Internet scams are a big concern to Asian consumers. And now with the rise of mobile broadband, consumers in Asia consider themselves three times more likely to fall victim to a scam on their smartphone than in person.

Many net consumers are now aware of email frauds such as “official representatives” from a foreign government offering millions of dollars in return for an upfront fee. New scams are born every day and it’s important to assess the landscape of today’s online deceptions.

Certain scams are more common than others and the study revealed that most result in an average financial loss of $9,900 per scammed individual across the four markets.

The top five scams most frequently encountered in Asia are work from home fraud, Internet auction, fake bank emails, online dating and identity theft.

Work from home fraud is a scam where users are either fooled into paying someone online to help them start a business, only for nothing to materialize, or are tricked into completing work on their computer but never receive payment.

Internet auctions are where an online item is purchased, but once the scammer has received payment they do not deliver the purchased item.

Email scams involve emails that are carefully crafted to look nearly identical to those used by banks, with people lured into providing their private customer information.

On dating websites con artists earn the trust of their victims to steal personal information or money.

Online actions fraudulently acquire and use a person’s private identification information, usually for financial gain, through fake websites and emails.

Across the region, males and females have similar attitudes to staying safe online and are equally likely to feel in control. But women are more careful about their email security. They are more likely to delete anything suspicious, and they tend to give their email address to only close friends.

Men invest in software, make sure they research the risks thoroughly and are more likely to say they browse privately to stay safe from scammers.

Help lines are noted as the most relevant tool in helping victims of Internet scams, followed by educational campaigns to share information about preventing scams.

The top five methods most frequently used in Asia to help prevent personal risk to online scams include deleting suspicious emails, ignoring advertisements and offers that appear too good to be true, and updating anti-malware software.

The other methods are undertaking online research about scams, and sharing knowledge and preventive ideas on the issue with friends and family through social media.


By Asina Pornwasin

Asina Pornwasin is the social media editor at The Nation. --Ed.

(The Nation )