The ASEAN Foundation has launched the Scam Ready ASEAN Resource Hub, a free digital learning platform intended to help communities across Southeast Asia recognise and prevent online scams.
The platform, available at ScamReadyASEAN.org, was unveiled during the first Scam Ready ASEAN Public-Private Partnership Dialogue in Manila. The ASEAN Foundation said the hub is supported by Google.org and is designed to deliver scam-prevention resources to 3 million people across the region.
According to the ASEAN Foundation, the Resource Hub combines a Scam Ready ASEAN curriculum developed using insights from internet safety experts at the Internet Society and the Global Cyber Alliance, alongside input from local implementing partners. It also includes Google’s “Be Scam Ready” educational scam awareness game and a directory of scam reporting hotlines and contact centres across all 11 ASEAN member states.
The Resource Hub forms part of Scam Ready ASEAN, a regional programme implemented by the ASEAN Foundation from 2025 to 2027 with US$5 million in support from Google.org. The programme includes training, gamified learning, awareness campaigns and public-private dialogues.
The launch comes as scam-related losses and exposure continue to rise in the region. The Global Anti-Scam Alliance has estimated scams across Southeast Asia caused US$23.6 billion in losses in 2024. The ASEAN Foundation also cited factors such as AI-enabled deception, instant payment systems and borderless digital platforms as contributors to scams becoming faster and more difficult to tackle.
The State of Scams Philippines 2026 Report, referenced in the release, found 84% of Filipino adults encountered a scam attempt in the past year, up from 77% in 2025. While 58% reported confidence in recognising scams, 60% of those who encountered an attempt still interacted with a scammer and only 4% reported the incident to authorities, indicating a gap between awareness and reporting.
“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.”
The ASEAN Foundation said the Scam Ready ASEAN programme has engaged 20 local implementing partners across the 11 member states and recruited 2,332 master trainers to support training for at least 550,000 learners. It also reported recruiting 151 “ASEAN Digital GrandPals” to raise scam awareness among at least 22,000 older people and their communities.
The organisation said the programme has also run community-led initiatives involving “Scam Ready Movers” and “ASEAN GAS!” content creators, which it expects to reach at least 20,000 people by the end of the year, while digital awareness efforts have generated more than 8 million online impressions across the region.
The Manila event is the first of at least nine regional and national public-private partnership dialogues planned across ASEAN, according to the release. A second day of discussions is expected to focus on implementation challenges, collaboration opportunities and alignment in programme delivery.
David Weller, Senior Director, Google Global Affairs, APAC, said: “No single organization can defeat complex scam networks alone. Building greater digital resilience across Southeast Asia requires strong public-private cooperation, including to help raise public awareness.”
