With scams becoming increasingly advanced and harder to detect, ensuring people’s safety requires more than just technology—it necessitates education. Today, we highlight the progress of our “One Step Ahead” anti-scam education campaign, which is aimed at helping individuals throughout Asia-Pacific take straightforward, practical measures to safeguard their accounts and find assistance when facing potential scams.
The campaign was developed in collaboration with over 25 local safety organizations, law enforcement, and government agencies across the region. It has been implemented on Facebook and Instagram, focusing on three core principles: safety advice should be practical, easy to implement, and provided by a trusted source.
Since its launch in May 2026, the campaign has reached more than 303 million people across 18 countries, generating over 1.3 billion impressions and more than 1.2 million link clicks. This marks one of Meta’s largest online safety education initiatives in the region.
Promoted security tools on Meta apps
- Two-factor authentication provides an additional security check at login, ensuring that a stolen password alone is insufficient for access.
- Passkeys allow users to sign in using a fingerprint, face, or PIN, making them secure from theft, sharing, guessing, or reuse.
- Security Checkup guides users through steps to enhance their Facebook account security in minutes.
- Privacy Checkup empowers users to control who can view, message, and connect with them.
- WhatsApp’s Linked Device Warning alerts users of suspicious login attempts, unauthorized web clients, or potential account-linking scams.
- WhatsApp group settings permit users to customize group privacy settings, controlling who can add them to groups.
Collaboration with trusted community partners
Collaboration is essential for combating scams and educating people on online safety. By working with respected local partners, we can extend our reach, enhance credibility, and ensure people know how to access local anti-scam resources. The campaign’s “Know Your Local Resources” element alone has connected over 27.4 million people across 14 markets to trusted organizations in their countries for reporting tools and support.
Future developments
The “One Step Ahead” campaign will continue throughout 2026, with plans to introduce new tools and locally tailored resources across the region and establish more partnerships. Our commitment extends beyond a single campaign, as scammers continually adapt, and staying ahead is an ongoing effort. People can learn more about protecting their accounts at Meta’s Scam Protection Center.
Partnering organizations include:
- Australia: Scamwatch (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
- Bangladesh: Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC)
- Hong Kong: Anti-Deception Coordination Centre (ADCC); Cyber Defender
- India: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in)
- Indonesia: Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs; Cyber Crime Directorate of the Indonesian National Police; Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre; Ministry of Trade
- Japan: National Police Agency
- Kazakhstan: Ministry of Culture and Information; The Department for Countering Cybercrime
- New Zealand: Netsafe
- Pakistan: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA)
- Philippines: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Securities and Exchange Commission; Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center; Whoscall; Bayan Academy
- Singapore: Singapore Police Force; National Crime Prevention Council
- Taiwan: MyGoPen; The Criminal Investigation Bureau; ADI
- Thailand: Ministry of Digital Economy and Society; Electronic Transactions Development Agency
- Uzbekistan: The Ministry of Digital Technologies; National Agency of Perspective Projects