Singapore, 20 October 2025: Just as one epidemic faded, another has taken hold — silent, invisible, and devastating. Scams are no longer petty crimes. They are a global Scammerdemic, stripping billions from victims, shattering families, and driving some to despair and even suicide

People’s lives are being ruined. No one is helping. We need to help ourselves.

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reports losses of $16.6 billion in 2024, four times higher than just five years earlier, with no slowdown in sight. In Singapore alone, scam losses surged to S$1.1 billion in 2024, a 70% jump in a single year.

From elderly victims of fake prize calls, to young men driven to suicide by sextortion, to families tricked by deepfakes of loved ones — no one is immune. The only available “vaccine” is prevention: education, awareness, and stronger regulation.

That’s why the Money Awareness and Inclusion Awards (MAIAs) have launched a new Anti-Scam Category — to highlight, support, and scale the world’s most effective initiatives fighting back against this plague.

“There is no cure once the money is gone,” said Michael Gilmore, founder of the MAIAs. “But prevention works. Financial literacy, digital awareness, and community vigilance can stop scams before they start. We cannot wait for regulators and law enforcement alone — we must act together.”

The Scammerdemic Whitepaper 2025, released today, lays bare the human and financial toll of scams and offers practical steps for individuals, families, and communities to protect themselves — from the “Beat the Cheats” checklist to global best practices in scam prevention.

CALL TO ACTION

• Protect yourself and your loved ones: Share the Beat the Cheats sheet.
• Join the movement: Support and learn from MAIA award-winning anti-scam projects.
• Submit solutions: Anti-scam innovators can enter the MAIAs at enter.maiawards.org on Jan 1, 2026
• The Scammerdemic is global, but it is not unstoppable. By acting together, we can make money safer — and better.

About the MAIAs:

Founded by Michael Gilmore and Trudi Harris, the MAIAs were devised as the first global body aiming to solve the problem of weak financial literacy experienced all over the world, by finding and celebrating the best solutions aimed at ‘making money better’ for people. Contact michael@maiawards.org for more details.