According to a global non-profit-oriented survey, weak scam vigilance measures limited prevention despite widespread scam warnings and disclosures.
Based on a survey of 46,000 adults* across 42 markets conducted via a 15-minute online questionnaire exploring experiences with scams over the last 12 months, a global non-profit organization has shared some data findings with the media.
First, 57% of global respondents had indicated they had encountered a scam in the past year, with 23% citing that they lost money as a result. Shopping scams had affected 54% of those scammed, while investment scams and unexpected money scams had each affected 48%. Scam encounters were more frequent in regions such as South America, Africa, and Oceania, where up to 41% of respondents had reported financial losses from these scams.
Second, 69% of respondents who were victims of scams had indicated they found the experience stressful; 17% indicated a loss of confidence; and 14% had indicated heightened tension within their family units following a scam encounter.
Other findings
Third, 93% of global respondents had reported taking at least one step to verify if an offer was legitimate, although many had relied on less effective measures such as checking for spelling and grammar mistakes (27%), looking for reviews on the same website (24%), or verifying company presence on social media (21%). Also:
- Approximately 70% of scam victims reported their encounters at least once, but over one-third said no action was taken by the platform after their report.
- Barriers to reporting scams included uncertainty about where to report (36%), believing the scam was not important enough to report due to no money lost (35%), and complexity of the reporting process.
- The most common payment methods used by scammers to receive funds were wire or bank transfers (29%) and credit card payments (18%).
- Scams tended to happen quickly, with nearly two-thirds concluding within a day of initial contact, often within minutes, implying the use of urgency and pressure tactics.
- Confidence in recognizing scams varied by demographics, with approximately 73% of adults offering some level of confidence, but younger adults, despite more confidence, were more likely to fall victim.
- The prevalence of scams and financial losses disproportionately affected people in developing regions and younger adults, with those in South America and Africa reporting among the highest impact.
According to Jorij Abraham, Managing Director, Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), the non-profit organization that commissioned the survey: “Scams are not only draining finances but also eroding trust and creating significant stress within families. We are learning that scam awareness campaigns alone are not enough. We need to continuously educate consumers, build better solutions to recognize and block scams and work internationally closer to get to catch the scammers.
*Aged 18 and above, numbering around 1,000 respondents per market. Quotas and weighting were applied to ensure national representativeness within each market on gender, age, and region. The overall quality of methodology disclosure is robust and comprehensive.
