Teachers as Digital Literacy Guardians: Scam Ready ASEAN Reaches Seven Districts in Kolaka Regency

The Scam Ready ASEAN activity, held online via Google Meet from 26 October to 30 October 2026, involved teachers from elementary schools (SD) to junior high schools (SMP) in seven districts in Kolaka Regency, namely Latambaga, Pomalaa, Wundulako, Baula, Wolo, Samaturu, and Tanggetada.

During the discussion session, several teachers shared experiences regarding various fraud schemes they encountered in their surroundings. One teacher from SDN 2 Kolakaasi, Mrs. Nurlaela, shared the experience of a student's parent at SDN 2 Kolakaasi who had been a victim of a phone scam claiming that one of their children had been in an accident and was being treated at a hospital. This case drew attention and led Mrs. Nurlaela and other teachers to ask, "How could the perpetrator know information about the child and their family, even down to detailed information about the school and so on?" asked Mrs. Nurlaela during the Google Meet.

The various stories show that digital fraud does not only target people who actively use social media. It also has the potential to target the entire education ecosystem, including school principals, school treasurers, school operators, parents, and students, who are at a vulnerable level to falling victim to fraud in the digital space.

Through the in-depth learning sessions of Scam Ready ASEAN, teachers are guided to take on an important role as guardians of digital literacy for the younger generation. The hope is that teachers at schools can keep students safe in the digital space by equipping them with the ability to recognize signs of fraud, verify the truth of information, and subsequently help students and parents become accustomed to not easily trusting unverified messages and offers.

The implementation of this activity also received full support from the Education and Culture Office of Kolaka Regency, Mr. H. Muhammad Jusrin Djafar, S.Sos., as the Head of the Education and Culture Office of Kolaka Regency. This collaboration was established with Kaizen Collaborative Impact through the Project Officer of Kaizen Collaborative Impact for the Southeast Sulawesi Region, Mr. Zulchaidir Ashary, to encourage all teachers in Kolaka Regency to #JagaSamaSama and #AmanSamaSama in the digital space.