Understanding the Social Commerce Scam and Consumers Self Disclosure

Abstract

The proliferation of online shopping scams has become widespread in Malaysia and other parts of the world as e-commerce continues to grow in popularity. Malaysia is known for having many online shoppers and is considered a high-risk country, city, or region for online fraud. Recently, scammers have taken advantage of the new social media landscape known as social commerce or S-commerce, which has fewer regulations than legal online shopping websites. This trend has created ample opportunities for scammers to steal consumers' data and money. Unlike traditional online shopping scams, these scams involve data stealing, which can have severe consequences for the victims. This study examines how consumers disclose their personal information during online shopping via social commerce platforms. The research involved conducting in-depth interviews with eight informants who had experienced online shopping scams in the Klang Valley area. The study found that social commerce platforms have influenced consumers' self-control in disclosing their personal information as they can fulfil consumers' needs and wants leisurely. However, this has created room for scammers to manipulate consumers and trap them through social commerce activities.