The ASEAN Foundation has launched “Scam Ready ASEAN,” a regional initiative aimed at strengthening defenses against online fraud, backed by $5 million in funding from Google.org. The program, unveiled during the Google 2026 Online Safety Dialogue, targets to build scam awareness and resilience among 3 million people across Southeast Asia.
The move comes as online scams continue to surge across the region, with Southeast Asia losing an estimated $23.6 billion to digital fraud in 2024 alone. In the Philippines, authorities have intensified enforcement, arresting dozens of scammers and money mules in early 2026, as schemes such as phishing, impersonation, and fake online selling grow more sophisticated despite measures like SIM registration.
Under the initiative, ASEAN will partner with 20 organizations across 11 member states, training 2,000 master trainers and reaching at least 550,000 beneficiaries through community-based education, digital tools, and policy dialogues. Officials said the program signals a shift from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention, as governments, tech firms, and civil society coordinate to counter increasingly complex cybercrime operations in the region.