Maluku, 5 October 2026 — Various forms of digital scams are increasingly becoming part of everyday life, including in school environments. Prize draw messages, fake offers, and communications demanding immediate money transfers are examples of situations that can occur without warning.
Recognizing the importance of preparedness for such situations, Scam Ready ASEAN was held for the first time in Maluku Province through a digital safety education session for students and teachers in the Aru Islands on Monday (5/10/2026). The activity was conducted online and attended simultaneously by students and teachers from SMAN 1 through SMAN 9 Aru Islands as well as SMA Yos Sudarso Dobo.
The activity was made possible through the support of the Education and Culture Office of Maluku Province, through the initiative of the Head of UPTD BTKI DIKBUD, Nurima Rumra, S.Pd. Scam Ready ASEAN is a program initiated by the ASEAN Foundation together with Google.org, with Kaizen Collaborative Impact as the Local Implementing Partner in Indonesia.
Carrying the spirit of "Learn Smart, Play Protect, Protect Together," the Scam Ready ASEAN learning program is designed to help communities recognize various forms of digital scams while building simple habits for responding to suspicious information.
During the learning session, participants were not only introduced to various patterns of digital scams but were also invited to share experiences they had encountered. The urgency of this education is increasingly evident with the discovery of various scam modus operandi targeting the school community. In the training session, participants shared real cases experienced by a supervising teacher at SMAN 7 Aru Islands, involving a fake school revitalization offer that ended with a request to transfer a large sum of money. Meanwhile, students also shared their experiences of receiving SMS prize draw messages and unfamiliar messages urging them to respond immediately.
These experiences show that digital scams often exploit trust, curiosity, or the urge to make quick decisions. Therefore, participants were encouraged to build one important habit: pause, think critically, and verify before acting.
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This experience was felt directly by students. Carolina, a student at SMAN 6 Aru Islands, said that she often receives suspicious messages.
"Here I will share my story about receiving an SMS message about winning a prize draw. But I ignored it because those messages are often sent and I know that it is a scam."
— Carolina, Student at SMAN 6 Aru Islands
In addition, the reality is that scams are also becoming more diverse and exploit people's weak points. As in the example at SMAN 7 Aru, a teacher named Pak Ode shared his experience of being targeted by a scam through the channel of prospective school revitalization recipients.
"Let me tell you first, previously I was the school operator at SMA Negeri 7 Aru Islands. I once received information that our school would receive revitalization. So somehow they knew that we were prospective recipients of revitalization. It was true that our school was indeed a prospective recipient. So I somewhat believed it. So I just responded. However, they said that we would receive four buildings, but we only needed to send part of the money. When they asked for money, I no longer responded because if it was sending data, that would be fine, but if it was sending money, I was not inclined to send it, so I stopped there."
— Pak Ode, Supervising Teacher at SMAN 7 Aru Islands
In the student session, Scam Ready ASEAN Master Trainer Rizqika Alya Anwar guided participants to understand how digital scams work, recognize suspicious communication patterns, and determine steps to take when receiving urgent messages or information.
The learning was also complemented by a gamification method through Be Scam Ready, a learning website that allows students to learn about digital safety in a more interactive and applicable way.
Meanwhile, a special session for teachers from SMAN 1 through SMAN 9 Aru Islands and SMA Yos Sudarso Dobo was led by Scam Ready ASEAN Master Trainer Muh. Iqbal Gunawan. In this session, teachers were encouraged to strengthen the habit of critical thinking and not rush into decisions when communicating or conducting transactions in the digital space.
The presence of Scam Ready ASEAN in Maluku is part of efforts to strengthen the preparedness of the school community in facing the risk of digital scams. Through learning that is close to everyday experiences, students and teachers are invited to recognize scam modus operandi, learn to pause, question information, and verify before responding.
Kaizen Collaborative Impact expresses its appreciation to the Head of the Education and Culture Office of Maluku Province, Dr. Sarlota Singerin, S.Pd., M.Pd., and the Head of UPTD BTKI DIKBUD of Maluku Province, Nurima Rumra, S.Pd., for their support and collaboration in the implementation of the inaugural Scam Ready ASEAN session in Maluku.
The collaboration between the ASEAN Foundation, Google.org, Kaizen Collaborative Impact, and the Education and Culture Office of Maluku Province is expected to continue to encourage the creation of a safer, more critical, and more resilient education environment in facing challenges in the digital space.
Because ultimately, preparedness for digital scams does not only start from the ability to recognize modus operandi, but also from the habit of not rushing to trust, checking information, and protecting oneself together.
Learn Smart, Play Protect, Protect Together.
“Kaizen Collaborative Impact is an organization engaged in community development through digital literacy education and inclusive program development in Indonesia. Through collaboration with various public sectors and regional institutions, Kaizen Collaborative Impact is committed to creating a safe, equal digital ecosystem that provides sustainable impact for society. In the Scam Ready ASEAN program, Kaizen Collaborative Impact is one of the Local Implementing Partners supporting the implementation of digital safety education in Indonesia.”
- Media Contact: Scam Ready ASEAN Communications Team WhatsApp: +62 858 9539 8398 Email: partner@kaizenimpact.org Website: https://kaizenimpact.org
“The ASEAN Foundation was established by ASEAN leaders on 15 December 1997 at the 30th ASEAN Anniversary Commemorative Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ASEAN Foundation works for and with the ASEAN community with the mandate to build an integrated and prosperous ASEAN Community through enhancing awareness, identity, interaction, and the development of the ASEAN community.”
- https://aseanfoundation.org
“Scam Ready ASEAN is a program implemented by the ASEAN Foundation with USD 5 million in support from Google.org for the 2025–2027 period. The program aims to equip 3 million people in the ASEAN region with practical knowledge to recognize and respond to online scams, including threats that are evolving with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The program is implemented through training, game-based learning such as Be Scam Ready, public awareness campaigns, and various activities at the national and regional levels.”
- Be Scam Ready Website: https://bit.ly/BSR_PlayWithKaizen
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