Portugal Colonial - Global Scams on the Rise: Over Half of Adults Worldwide Report Scam Encounters, 23% Lost Money

THE HAGUE, NL / ACCESS Newswire / October 7, 2025 / The Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), in partnership with Feedzai, has released the Global State of Scams 2025 Report. Based on a survey of 46,000 adults across 42 markets, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence, impact, and policy challenges of scams worldwide.

In the past 12 months, 57 percent of adults worldwide experienced a scam and 23 percent lost money. Shopping scams affected 54 percent of victims, while investment scams and unexpected money scams each impacted 48 percent. Scam encounters were most frequent in South America, Africa, and Oceania, where up to one in four adults lost money in the last year.

The research also highlights the emotional toll of scams. 69 percent of victims reported (huge) stress as a result, while 17 percent reported a loss of confidence and 14 percent said scams created heightened tension within their family unit. Despite this, many scams remain unreported, with uncertainty over where to report being the main barrier.

93% of adults globally claim to take at least one step to verify if an offer is legitimate or not. However, many often rely on methods that are less effective such as checking for spelling and grammar errors (27%); looking for reviews on the same website (24%) and checking if the company is on social media (21%).

Despite nearly three quarters of adults globally feeling confident in their ability to recognise a scam, scams remain prevalent, with many scam victims losing money and a significant proportion never reporting their encounters.

Jorij Abraham, Managing Director of GASA, comments: "We have a huge challenge, 73 percent of people worldwide feel confident they can recognize scams, however, nearly a quarter still lost money in the past year. 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 (AI) scams and work internationally closer to get to catch the scammers.

"Fraud isn't just about transactions anymore. It's about intent. Criminals are exploiting trust, behavior, and technology in real time. Stopping them takes more than spotting anomalies; it takes understanding human patterns. No single bank or payment provider can do that alone. The only way forward is collaboration across financial institutions and cybersecurity teams. That's how we protect consumers everywhere." adds Nuno Sebastião, CEO, Feedzai

The Global State of Scams 2025 Report emphasizes that scams are no longer isolated crimes but a global threat to consumer safety, financial stability, and trust in digital economies. GASA and Feedzai call for stronger international collaboration, better scam prevention tools, and accountability across platforms, governments, and industries.

The full report can be downloaded here: https://www.gasa.org/research

SOURCE: Global Anti-Scam Alliance

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