A RECENT survey has found that there is now a significant increase in the awareness and understanding of scams and their respective modus operandi among customers, resulting in a higher rate of successful scam avoidance.
This is the second installment of the public survey since The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) and the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM) launched the #JanganKenaScam campaign.
Commissioned in March 2024, The Public Opinion on Scam Survey highlighted distinct statistics on respondents’ rising level of scam awareness and compelling insights on customers’ attitudes towards banks’ scam awareness communications.
A total of 1,000 respondents, who are customers of 20 banks, participated in the survey.
According to the survey, 63% of its respondents said they had high recall of the #JanganKenaScam awareness campaign, recording a 9% uplift from the previous edition of the survey, with 80% lauding the clear and coherent campaign message and tagline.
Meanwhile, 81% of respondents who attended #JanganKenaScam events held by ABM expressed that they gained useful knowledge in handling scam situations better, with 95% indicating they would likely attend again.
There was also a 10% rise in respondents who expressed belief in banks’ ability to protect customers from scams, with the percentage of respondents now increasing to 63%.
In addition, more than 50% of respondents noted that they have interacted with banks’ communication efforts, while 69% of respondents contended that Malaysian banks’ performance in spreading awareness was effective, denoting that customers were more appreciative of banks’ overall communication efforts.
The survey further revealed how customers’ habits and preferences for receiving scam awareness communications from their chosen banks have evolved, reflecting the embrace of digitalisation in their daily lives and increasing comfort levels with banking via digital platforms.
Banking apps remained customers’ most trusted mode of communication with 68% of respondents ranking push notifications from the banking app in their top three, followed by e-mails which emerged a close second with 55% of respondents ranking it in similar terms.
When asked about how well they recalled scam awareness messaging from banks, 47% of respondents recalled viewing these messages on the banks’ respective social media platforms, indicating a 13% increase from the results of the previous survey.
Meanwhile, 44% of respondents recalled receiving these messages through push notifications from the banking app and reminders on the online banking website.
“Banks remain steadfast in our commitment to educate customers on the latest knowledge on financial scams through a national scam awareness campaign while strengthening safeguards against financial scams through enhanced security measures,” stated ABM chairman Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli.
“Our customers’ financial well-being remains at the core of all our initiatives, and we aim to arm customers with the necessary tools and resources to protect themselves from scams, fostering awareness and building resiliency.” – July 4, 2024
Main pic credit: theSun
