Digi uses six-part comic series to educate youths on Internet safety

Digi Telecommunications wants to make safe Internet education simple, engaging, and relatable through a comic series done in collaboration with Nixon Siow (Crazy Rich Guy) and Daniel Mok (The Mokumentary). The six-part comic series seeks to educate Malaysians, especially youths on being vigilant and social media etiquette.

The topics covered in the series include the importance of creating stronger passwords, online shopping scams, fake websites leading to malware infection, oversharing online, online stalkers and romance scams. The comics will be available on the respective Instagram pages of the artists on a weekly basis. It will also be made available in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese in order to reach a wider audience.

Digi's head of sustainability, Philip Ling, explained that the collaboration with two of Malaysia’s celebrated comic artists is the brand’s way of tapping into the diverse platform of art and culture to raise awareness on Internet safety.

“With the simple and engaging contents, we hope the comics can become conversation starters for various topics related to Internet safety. Scams and fraudulent activities are becoming more common these days, thus we see the pressing need to help digital citizens stay sharp and safe online, particularly those who are vulnerable such as the youths and senior citizens,” he added. A+M has reached out to Digi for additional information.

As part of Digi’s flagship Safe Internet programme, the telco has made available its Yellow Heart Safe Internet portal, which serves as a one-stop repository of educational material to equip Malaysians with the right tools and knowledge to use the Internet safely, including guidebooks for parents and children, video series, national syllabus modules and more.

Consumers and brands alike have been impacted by scams recently, from OCBC Bank and Shopee Malaysia to Google, Sohu and LinkedIn. Without a doubt, scams can impact a brand's reputation.

A 2021 study by Callsign found that consumers believe that banks, retailers and mobile operators need to do more to protect them and their personal information from fraudsters. Nearly half of consumers (45%) say their trust in businesses such as banks, retailers, mobile network operators and delivery companies, has decreased due to persistent scams spoofing brand names. Also, more than 42% of global consumers are asking mobile network operators to do more to stop scammers, and a third (33%) asking the same of banks.

According to Callsign's study, trust in these companies is eroding fast because consumers are overwhelmed by scam messages from fraudsters spoofing brand names on a daily basis. In fact, the issue has become so pervasive that consumers mistrust the technology, processes designed to protect them from fraudsters and confirm identities with many adamant that users must prove beyond doubt who they are when logging in to use a platform, and that there should be an online identity system to quell the surge of scams.

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