STOP THE BLAME

Experts at a forum reveal that instead of victim-blaming, those who fall prey to scams require peer support networks

- STORY: SUWITCHA CHAIYONG

To provide information about call centre fraud, the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University, organised a discussion titled "Measures To Combat Online Crime".

In the discussion, Assoc Prof Nualnoi Treerat of Chulalongkorn University cited a report in 2025 from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) which surveyed 46,000 people in 42 countries.

The GASA report stated that 70% of the adult population had experienced targeting by scammers; 57% were victims; and at least 23% lost money. Additionally, in 2025, victims lost approximately US$400 billion.

Of the scams, 54% involved online purchasing and 48% were investment scams. Besides losing money, victims faced long-term consequences including stress (69%) and mental health issues (45%). The scam experience also led to decreased self-confidence (17%) which became a long-term effect on their daily life.

Assoc Prof Nualnoi emphasised that although Southeast Asian countries, especially those in the Mekong River Basin, are hubs for scammers, the region is not the only location for scam centres. Scams require global networks since they cannot succeed without fraudsters in other countries.

The long discussion covered many topics related to scams, including money laundering, mule accounts and AI. An interesting but rarely discussed topic was "Prevention And Healing Through Targeted Communication And Peer Support Networks".

Assoc Prof Apiradee Wongkitrungrueng, a lecturer at Mahidol University International College, pointed out that anyone can become a victim of scammers whether they have a PhD, MD or are tech-savvy.

She studied 222 victims and divided them into seven groups — office workers, freelancers, the elderly, high status individuals, low-income individuals, small business owners, and children and youths.