AmBank unveils creative take on scam awareness in new mini-series

Banking company AmBank has released a mini-series on its social media channels to raise awareness on the risk of financial scams in Malaysia. 

Titled "Ringgit Thieves", the initiative is part of the broader financial services sector #JanganKenaScam campaigns led by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the National Scam Taskforce, together with the Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM), the Association of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions Malaysia (AIBIM).

Under the umbrella of #JanganKenaScam, “Ringgit Thieves” is inspired by true events and uses storytelling to highlight the various tactics and methods used by scammers including investment scams, love scams, identity theft and other fraudulent schemes.

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In conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, an AmBank spokesperson said the company wanted to step out of a conventional storytelling plot to capture the attention of the Malaysian public. 

"We wanted to do this differently, from a scammer’s point of view, and how we share their tactics, and feature unknown talents of all ages, so that everyone in Malaysia can resonate with," the spokesperson said.

AmBank has released five episodes of the eight-part series as of date, with the first episode setting the tone of the initiative. Titled "The Turnaround", episode one introduces a seemingly successful businessman who turns out to be a scammer. 

Episode two titled "The Password" dives deeper into the scammer's perspective, showing how swindlers get their hands on online passwords. It also gives viewers tips on how to deter scammers by creating a more complex password for their accounts. 

Titled "The Calls", episode three highlights how scammers use phone calls to target the "smartest" people. AmBank urged Malaysians to decline such calls to avoid being scammed. 

Episode four, "Love Hurts", focuses on poor and unsuspecting Malaysians who fall prey to strangers online. AmBank has advised the public to stay vigilant against scammers by blocking unknown numbers.

In the most recent episode, "The Marketplace" discusses how impulsiveness when coming across deals, offers and services can possibly lead to being scammed. Ambank prompts Malaysians to carefully check sellers' accounts and read reviews before making a purchase. 

"Educating the public is a very crucial step in today's digitalised world. Fighting cyber financial crime activities and preventing the exploit of human or security vulnerabilities to steal passwords, data or money directly is an ongoing imperative," said Jamie Ling, group chief executive officer at AmBank Group. 

"With “Ringgit Thieves”, we hope to increase the awareness of all Malaysians to this risk. An informed society is tougher to scam. While we had fun producing these mini-series internally, our message is a serious one that affects many of us personally. We seek the support of all Malaysians to please help us amplify the message #JanganKenaScam," he added. 

In September last year, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) removed 32,676 fraud and scam content in 2024 as of date. Deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching said Malaysia had lost more than RM3.18 billion from 2021 to April 2024 as a result of fraud.

In addition, the minister said that AI is transforming the media landscape, however, it poses risks such as misinformation, deepfake and online scams.

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