Online and offline scammers have hit millions of European consumers with sophisticated fraud tricker — particularly monetary fraud, identity theft and buying scams.
Roughly 20 percent of European consumers have experienced so-called “invisible crimes,” particularly identity theft, contributing to the worldwide spread of financial swindles and accompanying losses, a large survey by the European Union’s European Commission, entitled Survey on Scams and Fraud Experienced by Consumers, found. Some 56 percent of European consumers have experienced at least one type of fraud in the last two years.
On average, Europeans experienced 1.3 cases of scams and fraud over the last two years. Roughly one-third incurred two or more types of scams and fraud. Exposure to fraud and scams varied substantially across European Union’s 28-member states, ranging from 69 percent in Denmark to 17 percent in Bulgaria.