The Smart Ones Get Fooled Too

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Highly educated people who are successful in their careers make up the majority of those who fall victim to scams, says report.
The promise of easy money is irresistible. After all, as Liza Minelli and Joel Gray sang in the 1972 film adaptation of the musical Cabaret, money makes the world go round.
But while reality tells us that there is no such thing as a fast buck, many fall for schemes that promise huge returns for their investments.
This has helped to make scams a hugely successful “business”. For instance, the police received more than 35,000 reports of scams in 2024, with total losses of RM1.58 billion.
The irony is that the majority of those who believe in such flimflams are highly educated individuals who are successful in their chosen careers.
As stated in the just released “2025 State of Scams in Malaysia” report, 82% of those most likely to have experienced scams have the benefit of a good education, with 78% of them being millennials.
They include bank managers, teachers, engineers, and other professionals.
Apart from unheard of financial returns, victims have also fallen for promises of marriage, and even assurances to help them get out of criminal activities they were never involved with in the first place.
Gullibility, it seems, is not a trait of just the simpleton.
According to the report, which is a joint effort by Gogolook and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (Gasa), 85% of Malaysians have had at least one encounter with a scam over the past year. Up to 73% of them fell for it, losing all their money, in some cases an entire life’s savings.
Social media and online communication platforms have become the go-to channel for scammers. After all, there are few who still do not have a Facebook account or are not on WhatsApp.
WhatsApp is the most popular platform by a mile.
A total of 85% of those who have reported being scammed said they got hooked while on WhatsApp. Second is Telegram with 49% and then Facebook with 39%.
Rounding off the top 10 are Gmail, Instagram, TikTok, X, WeChat, Outlook, and Tinder.
Another irony is that of the 1,000 Malaysians interviewed for this report, 94% of them said they took steps to make sure such offers were legitimate, while 75% of them expressed confidence in their ability to see a scam for what it is.
Yet, most of them miss it.
As Gogolook COO Manwoo Joo pointed out in the report, awareness alone is not enough.
“We need better tools, smarter prevention, and platforms that support early detection and action,” he said.
Gogolook manages Whoscall, an app sanctioned by the police to detect suspicious calls and messages, as well as analyse scam links and images.
Gasa offers protection to consumers worldwide from scams by raising awareness, enabling hands-on tools, facilitating knowledge sharing, organising research, and offering training and education. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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