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Three in four European adults encountered a scam over the past 12 months, according to a sweeping new report that warns of a rapidly evolving digital underworld where criminal networks are increasingly harnessing artificial intelligence to target victims.
The study, published Tuesday by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), paints a stark picture of a continent under siege from industrial-scale fraud. Surveying more than 22,000 adults across 15 European nations, researchers found that while traditional methods like phone calls and text messages remain popular, scammers are heavily exploiting major online platforms, with Gmail, WhatsApp, and Facebook emerging as the top three conduits for fraud.
The financial toll is staggering. Over the last year, Europeans across the surveyed nations lost an estimated $57 billion to scams. The impact was most severe in Switzerland, which recorded the highest average loss, with victims losing roughly $6,000 each.
Yet, despite the vast sums stolen, the crimes remain largely invisible to authorities. Only 3 percent of victims reported the fraud to law enforcement or regulators, the report found.
GASA researchers attributed this massive underreporting to a "combination of practical, emotional, and perceived value barriers." Many victims described feeling profound shame, lacking clear guidance on which authority to contact, or harboring a deep-seated belief that filing a police report would be futile.
The findings reflect a broader global escalation in organized cybercrime. In March 2025, an investigation by OCCRP exposed how criminal call centers deploy fake investment schemes to systematically defraud thousands of victims worldwide. Similarly, data from U.K. Finance revealed that the British banking industry lost $1.6 billion to fraud in 2024 alone, as criminals executed more than 3.3 million scams.
The GASA report highlights how scam tactics are becoming terrifyingly personalized. In Spain, for example, the organization noted a "sharp evolution" in techniques. Criminal syndicates are no longer relying solely on generic phishing emails; instead, they are increasingly impersonating banks, public institutions, and even family members using "highly convincing voice messages, cloned identities, and fraudulent SMS campaigns," often powered by generative AI.
Paradoxically, the survey revealed a disconnect between public perception and actual vulnerability. While a growing number of respondents reported heightened anxiety about falling victim to fraud, 71 percent insisted they felt confident in their ability to recognize a scam.
This overconfidence, experts warn, is exactly what modern scammers exploit.
"Scam prevention cannot rely solely on technology," GASA cautioned in its report. "Even advanced detection systems are less effective if users are pressured emotionally or psychologically manipulated. The most promising approaches combine rapid information sharing, digital literacy, and real-time fraud detection."
