ASEAN Foundation and Google.org Launch Free Online Hub to Combat Regional Scams

 

The Scam Ready ASEAN Resource Hub equips communities across all 11 member states with localised training, interactive games, and reporting directories.

 

The ASEAN Foundation, backed by Google.org, launched a free digital learning platform this week aimed at equipping communities across Southeast Asia with practical tools to identify and prevent online fraud.

 

Unveiled during the inaugural Scam Ready ASEAN Public-Private Partnership Dialogue in Manila, the Scam Ready ASEAN Resource Hub (ScamReadyASEAN.org) consolidates localised training curricula, interactive educational games, and a comprehensive directory of scam-reporting hotlines across all 11 ASEAN Member States.

 

Developed in collaboration with global internet safety experts from the Internet Society (ISOC) and the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA)—alongside local implementing partners (LIPs)—the platform integrates Google’s Be Scam Ready educational game.

 

The interactive tool allows users to practise spotting common fraud tactics and making safer digital decisions in a risk-free environment.

 

 

Tackling an Escalating Regional Threat

The launch comes amid surging financial losses driven by increasingly sophisticated, AI-enabled deception and borderless instant payment systems.

 

According to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), online scams drained an estimated US$23.6 billion from Southeast Asia in 2024 alone.

 

In Thailand, figures from the Royal Thai Police’s Anti Cyber Scam Center (ACSC) underscore the scale of the crisis: between January and April 2026, authorities recorded 121,921 online crime cases, resulting in roughly THB 7.48 billion in losses.

 

While fraudulent goods and services accounted for 69.9% of reported incidents, financial and investment scams inflicted the heaviest damage, representing 80.2% of total financial losses.

 

"Effective scam prevention depends on institutions sharing knowledge and understanding how their efforts can complement one another," said Dr Piti Srisangnam, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation. "This dialogue gives partners across ASEAN an opportunity to share lessons learned, identify shared priorities, and explore practical cooperation. With the launch of the Resource Hub this week, that learning can continue well beyond this room."

 

 

Scaling Grassroots Digital Resilience

The Resource Hub forms a central pillar of Scam Ready ASEAN, a regional initiative running from 2025 to 2027 with US$5 million in funding from Google.org.

 

The programme aims to reach 3 million people across Southeast Asia through structured training, gamified learning, and public-private dialogues.

 

Since officially kicking off in Malaysia in April 2026, the programme has achieved several key milestones:

Grassroots Training: Engaged 20 local implementing partners across all 11 member states and recruited 2,332 master trainers—surpassing its original target of 2,000—to educate at least 550,000 learners.

Protecting Vulnerable Groups: Enlisted 151 ASEAN Digital GrandPals to deliver targeted scam awareness to at least 22,000 older persons and their communities.

Youth and Digital Outreach: Mobilised 23 Scam Ready Movers and 15 ASEAN GAS! content creators, generating over 8 million online impressions and projecting direct community engagement with 20,000 people by year-end.

 

 

Public-Private Cooperation

The two-day Metro Manila forum marks the first of at least nine regional and national public-private dialogues planned across the bloc, bringing together government agencies, financial institutions, non-profits, and academics to streamline cross-sector coordination.

 

David Weller, Senior Director of Google Global Affairs for APAC, emphasised that tackling complex criminal networks requires collective action.

 

"No single organisation can defeat complex scam networks alone," Weller said. "Building greater digital resilience across Southeast Asia requires strong public-private cooperation. This hub will bring practical tools and localised scam awareness education directly to local communities across the region."

 

As part of its broader regional safety push, Google is also expanding partnerships with local government agencies and industry associations to localise Be Scam Ready education nationwide.

 

Members of the public can access the free learning modules and regional hotline directory at ScamReadyASEAN.org.