Vietnam leads ASEAN in online scam exposure, case resolution: GSMA report

The GSMA on Wednesday launched the GSMA ASEAN Consumer Scam Report 2026 at the Digital Trust Summit, as part of the M360 ASEAN in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Over the past 12 months, 13 percent of people in Vietnam have reported being victims of scams, compared with eight percent across the region, making Vietnam the country with the highest reported scam rate in ASEAN.

Despite this high level of exposure, Vietnam also demonstrates strong public awareness of efforts to combat fraud.

As many as 91 percent of surveyed Vietnamese are aware of government anti-scam programs, significantly higher than the regional figure of 73 percent.

Trust in institutions is another notable feature of the Vietnamese market.

Some 82 percent of respondents said they were comfortable with the government holding their personal data, while 76 percent expressed similar comfort with their mobile operator holding their data.

Vietnam has also performed strongly when resolving scam cases.

As many as 66 percent of victims said that their case had been resolved, the highest proportion in ASEAN, compared with 55 percent across the region.

Meanwhile, Thailand ranks second, with 65 percent of Thai victims seeing their cases being resolved.

As for the financial impact of scams, 59 percent of Vietnamese scam victims reported losing money, the second-lowest rate in ASEAN, after Singapore.

Also, the report showed that online shopping and impersonation scams each accounted for 36 percent of reported scam experiences in Vietnam.

Moreover, 51 percent of scams reported by Vietnamese victims have involved voice calls, the highest proportion in the region.

According to the report, nearly one in ten (eight percent) consumers surveyed in the region reported being scammed in the previous 12 months.

Among scam victims, 68 percent lost money and, of those, 82 percent recovered none of their losses.

Only 10 percent recovered all losses.

At the event, the GSMA also launched the ‘Digital Nations 2026: Building Trusted Digital Ecosystems in ASEAN’ report, arguing that trust has become a strategic enabler of ASEAN's digital future.

As countries across the region advance digital economy strategies, AI adoption, digital government programs and cross-border digital integration, the report highlights that confidence in digital infrastructure, services and institutions increasingly determines whether digitalization translates into adoption, innovation, investment and socioeconomic impact.

“Access alone is no longer enough. As ASEAN's digital economies become more sophisticated, people must have confidence that digital services are secure, reliable and accountable,” Julian Gorman, head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, told the summit.

“The findings from these reports show that digital trust is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for digital participation, innovation and growth.

“Countries that build confidence in digital infrastructure, services and institutions will be better placed to realise their digital ambitions.

“This will require governments, mobile operators, digital platforms, financial institutions and other stakeholders to work together to verify identities, authenticate communications and prevent fraud before harm occurs.”

The Digital Trust Summit at M360 ASEAN, which took place in Malaysia on September 9 and 10, brought together leaders from governments, industry and international organizations to explore how ASEAN can strengthen trust in digital interactions and build more secure, resilient and inclusive digital ecosystems.