Don’t Fall for It: A Teen’s Guide to Spotting Scams

With the rise of digital fraud, phishing and financial scams targeting young people have become increasingly prevalent. Led by Ms Ng Yen Hong, a senior lecturer, a team of 10 academics and 11 UTAR CARE students from UTAR Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance (THP FBF) collaborated with Shen Jai High School, Ipoh, to organise a scam awareness talk for 875 Shen Jai High School teachers and students. The project aimed to highlight the methods used by scammers, educate students on the types of scams and how they work, offer guidance on avoiding victimisation, and share practical strategies for detecting and preventing fraud.

The project also involved six police officers from Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM), who shared first-hand experience of handling fraud cases and provided real-life examples of how scams operate. Their presence made the project more impactful and encouraged students to take scam prevention seriously.

During the talk, Inspector Low Ee Hang (Investigating Officer, Commercial Crime Investigation Division, District Police Headquarters Bagan Datuk, Perak) engaged the audience by posing several questions, to which some students enthusiastically responded by walking up to the stage. In addition, the THP FBF academics and UTAR CARE students set up booths in the school hall, where they conducted interactive quizzes after the session to test participants’ understanding of various scams. All participants received pens as tokens of appreciation, which could be put to practical use in their daily studies and upcoming examinations.

Goh Hui Ying, a 17-year-old Senior 2 Science Stream student, shared that the session helped her understand the importance of practicing caution when encountering URL links and QR codes from unknown sources. She also became more aware of the scams and fraudulent advertisements designed to trick and deceive unsuspecting users in today’s digital era. Thanks to Inspector Low Ee Hang’s informative sharing, she learned about the 997 Hotline for reporting scams to the National Scam Response Centre, which she now knows to call if she encounters scam-related situations.

Lee Xin Hui, a 13-year-old Junior 1 student, expressed that after listening to Inspector Low Ee Hang’s scam talk, she realised how common and widespread scams are in society today. She acknowledged that scams can come in many forms and that anyone could potentially become a victim. Lee further commented that she learned a lot from the session and will exercise extra caution, so as not to fall prey to scams.

Shu Zi Nin, a 16-year-old Senior 1 Commerce & Accounting student, remarked that the talk helped her understand how to avoid becoming a scam victim, especially in this era where scammers use artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate victims’ family members or loved ones to extort money. She also emphasised the importance of being cautious with URL links and QR codes received from unsolicited sources. Shu urged her peers to remain alert when there are suspicious offers or unrealistic deals that seem “too good to be true”, adding that she believes “nothing comes free in today’s world”.

Lastly, UTAR lecturer Ms Foo Pik Yin humbly opined that this insightful and meaningful event not only raised awareness and disseminated vital knowledge on the identification, modus operandi and prevention of various scams, but also contributed significantly to scam prevention among the local community. Moreover, this event exemplified UTAR’s ongoing commitment to building mutually beneficial collaborations with local communities and external stakeholders, thereby enhancing UTAR’s positive image among the public as a proactive contributor in organising community service and outreach projects that benefit society.