UNDP and its partners launched the Anti-Scam Handbook (v1.0) at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia (GASS) in Singapore on October 22. UNDP
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and its global coalition partners launched the Anti-Scam Handbook (v1.0) on October 22 at the Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia (GASS) in Singapore, highlighting over $1 trillion in financial losses caused by scams in the previous year.
The handbook addresses the growing threat digital scams pose to the global development agenda and offers strategies for a high-impact, collective response across public, private and civil society sectors at global and national levels.
According to a UNDP press release, the issue is more extensive than reported, with one in four people falling victim to fraud worldwide, alongside unreported cases and broader societal damages.
Though Cambodia was not included in the 2023 report covering 43 countries, the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) found that developing nations lost a higher percentage of GDP to scams. The worst-affected were Kenya (4.5 per cent of GDP lost), followed by Vietnam (3.6 per cent), Brazil (3.2 per cent) and Thailand (3.2 per cent).
The UNDP press release warned that scams undermine trust in digital platforms and services, diminishing the benefits of digitalisation. It said increasingly sophisticated scams exploit digital technologies, necessitating global cooperation.
According to release, the handbook offers insights into the dynamics of digital scams in developing countries across Africa, the Asia Pacific and Latin America. It also provides strategies for addressing scams, covering education, prevention, detection, disruption, reporting, recovery, enforcement and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
A recent case study on Cambodia found that e-commerce scams were the most prevalent, with individuals becoming more vigilant. The study also noted the rise of credit card and social engineering scams, including impersonation, blackmail, extortion and utilities fraud.
The report covered other scam types like investment fraud, advance fee schemes and romance scams, though it did not raise any severe cases linked to Preah Sihanouk province.
“Some have also been engaged by scammers seeking to buy their identification information to establish infrastructure – bank accounts, phones and online accounts – for scamming operations,” the UNDP report noted about the situation in Cambodia.
It emphasised that digital literacy is essential for mitigating risks as the country progresses in its digitalisation journey.
Cambodia was highlighted as one of the "pathfinder countries" by the UNDP’s global coalition to combat digital scams for its proactive stance in tackling the growing threat of these fraudulent activities.
UNDP resident representative in Cambodia Alissar Chaker said, “UNDP recognises the critical need to act swiftly against the rising tide of digital scams, which threaten hard-won development gains. Our strength lies in bringing together a global coalition of partners, and we are grateful for the support of Mastercard, INTERPOL, ThinkPlace and many others who have joined us on this important journey.”
“The success of our recent workshop in Cambodia, which convened over 40 experts from 20 organisations, is a testament to the power of collective action. While this is a significant first step, we remain humble in acknowledging that there is much more to be done, and we look forward to continuing these collaborations to drive impactful solutions globally,” she added.
The handbook also outlined key recommendations for Cambodia, including fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration, enhancing public awareness and digital literacy, strengthening trust in digital platforms and advancing legislative reforms and law enforcement to better combat scams.
