The Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASA) Asia 2025, held in Singapore this September, brought together over 1,200 delegates from 60 countries, making it one of the largest anti-scam gatherings in the region. Attendees included telco fraud teams, retail banking risk managers, regulators, law enforcement, consumer groups, and AI innovators – all united under a single mission: dismantling the global scam economy.

Over two days of panels, workshops, and closed-door working groups, participants shared the latest data on scam trends, tested AI-powered detection models, and developed tactical playbooks for real-time disruption. The event underscored a clear reality: scams are not isolated crimes but a systemic, borderless industry threatening economies and trust in digital communication.

Key Takeaways from GASA Asia 2025

1. Scams are systemic and borderless

One of the key messages from the summit was that scams are sophisticated and industrialised operations, not random, sporadic events. UNODC and INTERPOL reports highlight that billions are stolen each year, much of it flowing through organised crime syndicates and scam compounds across Southeast Asia. In 2024 alone, joint operations in the region led to 1,800+ arrests, 33,000+ bank accounts frozen, and over US$50 million recovered.

Delegates stressed that scammers exploit jurisdictional loopholes, moving operations across borders to evade enforcement. Effective disruption, therefore, requires cross-border intelligence sharing and coordinated action between banks, telcos, and regulators, rather than isolated national efforts.

2. AI is raising the stakes, but also strengthening defences

The rise of AI-driven scams was a central theme. Criminals now use deepfakes, cloned voices, and hyper-targeted phishing to scale attacks. Both Singapore and Hong Kong reported multi-million-dollar executive impersonation attempts in the past year, where AI voice cloning nearly succeeded in moving funds before being stopped.

The summit also highlighted how AI is strengthening defences. Australian banks reported that AI-based real-time detection reduced scam losses by double-digit percentages in 2024-25. Fraud teams showed how graph analysis, behavioural biometrics, and natural language processing can flag suspicious transfers or scripted scam calls before funds are lost.

The key idea is that AI is both the threat and the opportunity. Organisations that fail to adapt risk falling behind an arms race that scammers are already exploiting.

3. Collaboration is essential to disrupt scams at scale

If scams operate as global businesses, then disruption must be collective. Multiple sessions highlighted the role of shared intelligence hubs where telcos, banks, and platforms exchange real-time signals on fraudulent accounts, mule networks, and compromised numbers.

The consensus was clear: no single sector can fight scams alone. Telcos can block the channels, banks can freeze the funds, and regulators can enforce shared accountability. Only together can we dismantle scam networks at scale.

Why This Matters

• Telcos: Scams erode trust in networks and increase compliance pressure.

• Banks: Scams drive operational costs, regulatory fines, and reputational damage.

• Governments: Scams threaten citizen safety and economic resilience.

The GASA Asia 2025 summit marked a turning point. The fight against scams is now recognised as a shared battle, and AI-driven intelligence, cross-sector collaboration, and regulatory alignment are the keys to shifting momentum.

Tactical Playbooks

For Telcos: Protecting the Digital Gateway

Telcos are the front door for scammers. Phishing texts, scam calls, and fraudulent messages reach victims through their networks. Case studies at GASA showed how unregistered sender IDs, SIM-swap abuse, and short-lived numbers are weaponised to bypass controls.

Telcos are uniquely positioned to stop scams before they reach consumers. That’s why disruption must be treated as a network KPI, not just a compliance checkbox.

For Banks: Safeguarding the Last Mile

For banks, scams often surface at the point of payment. According to GASA’s global study, authorised push payment fraud and investment scams now account for the largest single category of losses worldwide. Victims are often tricked into willingly transferring funds.

The summit reinforced that relying on customer warnings alone is ineffective. Banks need to embed intelligence into payment flows. AI-powered intent detection, which analyses transaction metadata and message patterns such as scripted “urgent” or “investment” language, is now being deployed to flag scams. Coupled with 24/7 mule account sweeps, where fraudulent accounts are proactively blocked, these measures shift banks from reimbursing losses to preventing them.

For Governments & Regulators: Setting the Rules of Engagement

Governments and regulators at GASA Asia 2025 emphasised the need to codify shared obligations across industries. Australia’s Scam Prevention Framework is a leading example: from 2025, banks, telcos, and digital platforms will each have legal responsibilities to detect, report, and disrupt scams.

Delegates agreed that frameworks only succeed when supported by enforceable Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for intelligence sharing and safe-harbour protections that allow rapid cross-border collaboration without legal risk. Governments can also mandate transparency on the time to freeze funds and the percentage of losses recovered, ensuring victims are protected.

Regulators also play a critical role in funding research and public reporting. GASA’s Southeast Asia survey showed that 63 percent of adults in the region faced scams in the past year. Ongoing measurement and disclosure keep political pressure high and ensure scams are treated as a systemic threat, not a consumer inconvenience.

GASA Asia 2025: FAQs on Scam Prevention

What was GASA Asia 2025?

The Global Anti-Scam Summit Asia 2025 in Singapore gathered 1,200+ delegates from 60 countries. Telcos, banks, regulators, and AI innovators met to share data, test new technologies, and coordinate global scam prevention.

Why are scams “systemic and borderless”?

Scams operate like global businesses, operating across borders to avoid prosecution. In 2024 alone, 1,800+ arrests and 33,000 bank accounts were linked to scam operations in Southeast Asia.

How is AI used in scams and prevention?

Criminals use deepfakes, voice cloning, and phishing bots to trick victims at scale. Banks and telcos now deploy AI detection tools such as graph analysis, behavioural biometrics, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to block scams in real time. Apate’s AI-powered bots add an extra layer of security by engaging scammers in realistic conversations to uncover tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) before they reach customers.