ASEANAPOL and UTAR Advances Scam Prevention from Awareness to Action: Supporting “C.H.E.C.K. First, Stay Safe” Across the ASEAN Community

KAMPAR, MALAYSIA | 19 AUGUST 2026

Recognising scams as one of the key priorities of ASEANAPOL, Police Senior Colonel Dr. Kongkrissada Kittithiraphong, Executive Director of the ASEANAPOL Secretariat, joined the Anti-Scam Campaign for ASEAN at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Kampar Campus, participating in the Opening Ceremony and contributing as a panelist in two key panel discussions on scam prevention.

The campaign formed part of the Soft Skills Festival 2026, bringing together participants on-site and online with a shared objective: moving from awareness to action by equipping people with practical skills to recognise, resist and respond safely to increasingly sophisticated scams.

For ASEANAPOL, the programme carries particular significance. Countering scams and scam-related transnational crime has become a major focus of regional police cooperation, in line with the decisions and directions agreed by the ASEAN Chiefs of National Police. While ASEANAPOL continues to strengthen operational cooperation among its Member Countries, prevention and public awareness are equally important components of the regional response.

As the objectives of the campaign directly support these priorities—particularly prevention, public awareness, critical thinking and community resilience against scams—the ASEANAPOL Secretariat placed strong importance on the initiative and participated fully in the programme.

A major highlight was the launch of the “C.H.E.C.K. First, Stay Safe” Campaign, a student-led Corporate Social Responsibility initiative organised by UTAR students and co-organised with the Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF), Kinta District, with the support of ASEANAPOL and international and community partners.

The campaign introduces a simple but practical approach that can be applied before responding to suspicious communications:

• C – Calm Down
• H – Hold Your Emotions
• E – Evaluate the Situation
• C – Confirm the Information
• K – Keep Yourself Safe

The message is straightforward: before clicking, transferring money, disclosing information or responding to an urgent request — C.H.E.C.K. first.

During the first panel, “Pause Before You Act – Manage Your Emotions and Make Safer Decisions,” Dr. Kongkrissada discussed the human dimension of scams and the importance of preventing criminals from exploiting fear, urgency, trust and other emotional responses to manipulate victims.

He subsequently joined the second panel, “Check Before You Trust – Think Critically, Verify and Stay Safe,” sharing a regional law enforcement perspective on the increasingly transnational nature of scam operations and the need for stronger cooperation among police agencies, international organisations, academia, the private sector and communities.

The discussions underscored that effective counter-scam efforts cannot begin only after a crime has occurred. The first layer of protection begins with informed and resilient citizens, while effective law enforcement requires coordinated national and cross-border action to identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks operating behind scams.

ASEANAPOL’s participation in the programme therefore reflects its broader approach to countering scams: connecting public awareness and prevention with regional police cooperation and operational action.

By engaging directly with students, citizens, academia, law enforcement agencies, civil society, international organisations and the private sector, ASEANAPOL continues to support a whole-of-society approach in which everyone has a role in building a safer ASEAN Community.

From Awareness to Action — C.H.E.C.K. First, Stay Safe.
No Country Can Fight Scams Alone.
Think with Vision. Act with Unity. Deliver with Results.
Together we keep this region safe.