27% of Italians reportedly targeted by romance scams using AI
A Mastercard report found that 27% of Italians have encountered fake profiles, money requests, or online relationships exploited for financial gain in romance scams. The research identified growing use of AI and ready-made fraud kits driving a global fraud "industry" causing $1 trillion in annual losses.
What happened
According to a Mastercard report, romance scams are widespread in Italy, with 27% of Italians reportedly encountering false profiles, requests for money, or online relationships that result in financial exploitation.
The report found that fraud operations globally function as an organized industry using ready-made kits, shared platforms, and revenue-sharing models similar to legitimate businesses, with increasing use of artificial intelligence in executing these schemes.
Reported impact
Globally, approximately $1 trillion is lost annually to fraud, with 96% of victims never recovering their funds.
In Italy specifically, the Mastercard survey found that 6 out of 10 citizens received phishing emails or deceptive text messages, over half were targeted by telephone fraud, and 45% experienced attacks via social media.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.