NEW DELHI: A survey conducted by GSMA, a global organisation unifying the mobile ecosystem, has found 12% of respondents in India reported being scammed in the last 12 months as opposed to 8% in Asean-6 – Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Philippines.“Indian consumers also extend institutions an unusual level of permission to use their data,” said the India Consumer Scam Report 2026.“Online shopping scams, at 33%, are the most common type in India compared with 32% across Asean-6, followed by prize, lottery and inheritance scams at 31%, compared with 25% (Asean-6), and job or income scams at 30%, compared with 32%. Scams using a QR code or payment link stand at 27% in India, compared to 18% across Asean-6 and 23% in Thailand. Messaging apps are the most common route, involved in 42% of Indian victims’ scams against 41% across Asean-6,” said the report.
GSMA chief regulatory officer John Giusti told TOI that the challenge of digital economy frauds is growing globally and telecom operators in India, along with authorities here, are at the “forefront” of tackling the menace. “One trillion dollars were lost to scams worldwide in 2024 and 50% of consumers (globally) have said they’re being exposed to scams.“India led the way in 5G rollout globally and has a significant headstart in 6G too. Telecom operators here are leading the way in tackling the menace. Your phone just flashed a likely spam and that shows the attempt being made to safeguard consumers,” said Giusti.“Whether it be scam calls, scam advertisements on digital platforms, scammers are trying to find ways to infiltrate financial services. Globally everyone needs to come together and solve this problem,” he said.GSMA has used these findings on a cross-sectional online survey of adults in India and the six Asean markets through self-administered online interviews between July 29, 2026 and Aug 3 with about 500 respondents in India.
