AI-powered messaging fraud costs Portuguese victims average €800
Portuguese messaging app users lost an average of €800 per scam according to a Kaspersky study, above the global average of €675. Criminals use AI to impersonate trusted contacts and brands, increasingly across multiple platforms, with over half of victims compromised in under 30 minutes.
What happened
According to a Kaspersky study, Portuguese messaging app users are among the most affected by fraud globally, with criminals increasingly using AI to make scams more credible and difficult to detect. Fraudsters impersonate relatives, friends and trusted brands via WhatsApp (56.57% of cases), SMS/iMessage (49.4%) and Facebook (17.5%), often transitioning between multiple platforms during attacks.
Reported impact
Portuguese victims lost an average of over €800 per scam, above the global average of €675. More than 18% of affected Portuguese users lost over €1,245, compared to 11% globally. 54% of Portuguese participants reported being defrauded in less than 30 minutes, and 28% of victims reported being targeted three or more times within six months.
Index analysis
Kaspersky researchers report that a globally organized network operates behind the scams, using AI to imitate communications in ways that appear indistinguishable from everyday communication. The study notes that 60% of scams affecting Portuguese users involved transitions across multiple platforms, and criminals use everyday language to make targets believe they are making secure decisions.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.