A new Cullen International Global Trends report highlights key trends observed in 2025 in the global online scams ecosystem.
Main takeaways
- Online scams are growing everywhere, as are the total financial losses associated to them.
- Investment scams involving cryptocurrencies are growing dramatically.
- There are increasing bonds between scams and organised crime. The “scamming industry” is evolving consequently.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used to perpetrate online scams. AI is however also helping some authorities to detect and block them more effectively.
- In 2025 some jurisdictions around the world adopted or proposed new legislation and policies related to scams. The focus of those initiatives regards various aspects, ranging from enforcement aspects to mechanisms to compensate scam victims.

The report highlights key developments on online scams across nine jurisdictions, including Australia, Brazil, the EU, India, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and the US.
For more information and to access the full benchmark, please click on “Access the full content” - or on “Request Access”, in case you are not subscribed to our Global Trends service.
more news
25 February 26
Protection of minors: overview of national initiatives on banning access to social media
Our latest benchmark shows that an increasing number of European countries are discussing a potential social media ban on children.
23 February 26
The DNA explained: universal service to serve the same goals under a revised approach
Cullen International is issuing a series of analyses on different aspects of the Digital Networks Act (DNA) proposal. This report covers universal service.
20 February 26
Revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA2) - Changes to the EU cybersecurity certification framework
Cullen International published an analysis of the proposed changes to the EU cybersecurity certification framework under the draft Cybersecurity Act 2 (CSA2) delivered by the European Commission on 20 January 2026.