As our world becomes faster, smarter and more interconnected, scammers are evolving in parallel, developing increasingly sophisticated ways to exploit people’s trust. By harnessing new technologies and behavioural insights, they are refining their methods to appear ever more credible and convincing.

While attacks on systems continue, today’s fraudsters are increasingly targeting people, often relying on psychological manipulation to achieve their goals.

Understanding Social Engineering

Many modern scams fall under the umbrella of social engineering,which isthe use of deception and emotional manipulation to influence a person’s behaviour.

In the digital world, cybercriminals use these tactics to build false trust, create urgency or fear, and ultimately trick people into sharing confidential information or taking actions that can cause financial harm to themselves or their employer.

Recent European industry data indicates that social engineering-related fraud and authorised push payments (APPs) – where victims are tricked into sending money to fraudsters posing as legitimate payees – now account for a growing share of overall scam losses[1].

This is directly impacting a growing number of consumers, with the majority of people saying they’ve experienced some form of scam or fraudulent attempt to capture their personal information highlighting why awareness and vigilance are critical for people of all ages.

Education is the First Line of Defence

Protecting consumers and businesses from malicious activity is a priority, and it starts with awareness. When people understand how scams work, they’re more likely to spot the warning signs before it’s too late and be empowered to protect themselves against fraudsters.

Three of the most common social engineering scams to watch out for are:

• Imposter fraud – Criminals pose as trusted organisations (such as banks, retailers, or government bodies) to pressure victims into sharing personal or financial details. Research indicates over half (53%) of European consumers have been targeted via phone or voice call scams, with social media scams affecting around two in five people, and tech support impersonation tricking roughly one in three.*
• Phishing – Fraudulent emails, texts, or messages that are designed to look legitimate, often urging immediate action like clicking a link or resetting a password, leading victims to disclose sensitive information or install malicious software. Nearly three in five (58%) have received phishing emails or fraudulent text messages (63%) and QR code scams are on the rise, impacting nearly a quarter of Europeans.*
• Romance or honeypot scams – Scammers build emotional relationships over time, gaining trust before exploiting it for financial gain. These types of attacks are also widespread, with one in four people (24%) encountering fake profiles, requests for money, or online relationships that lead to financial exploitation. These scams hit younger generations hardest, with 40% of Gen Z and 35% of Millennials affected, compared with 21% of Gen X and 11% of Boomers.*

How Businesses Can Protect Consumers from Scams

With fraudsters increasingly using AI to commit more sophisticated, larger scale attacks, businesses and banks should also consider how they deploy technology to protect customers from bad actors.

The combination of AI, robust identity controls and open banking can help protect consumers from scams, whether across card and account‑to‑account payments or in fraudulent account openings.

Looking at identity controls specifically – take the example of continuous identity verification, a fraud prevention measure that verifies the user is who they claim to be throughout the entire lifecycle journey. This helps to prevent scammers from opening or taking over accounts to apply for credit, create ‘mule’ accounts or impersonate others.

Behavioural biometric data is often used as part of this and can be used to analyse how a user interacts with their device – from typing patterns to on‑screen movements – to flag unusual behaviour.

More in depth, AI powered transaction analysis can also help banks and financial institutions to stay ahead of payment threats. It provides banks with the intelligence needed to detect and stop payments to scammers, using AI and a network-level view of account‑to‑account transactions to enable intervention before funds leave an account.

Staying Ahead of an Ever-Evolving Threat

As social engineering tactics continue to evolve, staying ahead requires a combination of intelligent technology, consumer education, and proactive action from businesses and financial institutions.

While no single measure can eliminate risk entirely, greater awareness, stronger collaboration and data-sharing, and continued innovation of payments ecosystems will be critical in reducing the impact of scams and protecting trust in the digital economy.

*Source: This study was conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Mastercard from September 8 to September 25, 2025, among 5000+ consumers in the following European markets: EUR: France (n=1,005), Germany (n=1,002), Italy (n=1,016), Spain (n=1,005), UK (n=1,004)

Mastercard: Transforming the Fight Against Scams

Innovation – Our advanced AI-powered Identity insights examine digital footprints and assess unique patterns to detect risk and flag suspicious activity indicative of scams.

Collaboration – We collaborate across industries, partners and organizations worldwide to secure the digital ecosystem, ensuring payments are safe for all. Combating the growing threat of scams demands a collective effort.

Education – We work with and through our collaborators to provide knowledge and tools that help people protect themselves and their loved ones from scams, while also working to destigmatise the experience of being a victim.

• $12.5bn in losses from U.S. consumer reported online scams in 2023
• $486bn in global losses from scams and bank fraud schemes in 2023
• 22% YoY growth in U.S. consumer scam losses suffered in 2023

From sender to recipient, we vigilantly monitor accounts and transactions for any elevated scam risk

Identity insights – Provides actionable identity insights and risk scores for businesses to improve identifying their good customers from the scammers creating “mule” accounts or impersonating someone else with a false identity.

Transaction patterns – Flags suspicious activity across the money movement flow to prevent payments to scammers before it is sent through the real-time analysis of transaction elements.

Account confirmation – Enables account validation to confirm account ownership and validate identity details in real-time through our open banking capability, which draws on the safe exchange of consumer-permissioned data to facilitate frictionless and secure payments.

Learn more at mastercard.com

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[1] Joint EBA-ECB report on payment fraud: strong authentication remains effective, but fraudsters are adapting