Online Scams Are Evolving Faster Than Platforms Can Keep Up

Emily Jones · 2026-10-20

Online financial scams have become a pervasive crime in the digital age. They show up across all types of online intermediary services, from the biggest platforms and search engines to smaller apps and messaging tools. A new study, commissioned by the European Commission in 2025, set out to map the main types of financial scams, the platform features scammers exploit, their impact on users and society, and the measures platforms can take to stop them. The study was carried out by Open Evidence and Spark Legal and Policy Consulting. It doesn't evaluate whether specific platforms are complying with the rules, but it does give us a clear picture of the problem. ### Six types of scams you should know about The researchers grouped online financial scams into six broad categories: - Investment scams - Romance scams - E-commerce scams - Employment and collaboration scams - Unexpected gain scams - Disaster relief scams Investment scams and romance scams are the most common and fastest-growing forms in Europe. But what's really interesting is that the lines between categories are blurring. A romance scam can turn into an investment scam. A fake job offer can lead to a crypto scheme. Scammers mix and match methods to get what they want. ### The platform features scammers love to exploit What makes this study useful is that it looks under the hood at the specific features that make scams possible. Here's what the researchers flagged: - Advertising systems that let anyone pay to reach a huge audience - Recommender systems that amplify engaging but misleading content - Content moderation gaps for organic posts - Monetisation systems that reward attention over accuracy - App store content and private messaging functions that are hard to police - Inauthentic identities and account manipulation - Deceptive commercial content - Generative AI that makes scams cheaper and more convincing It's not just one feature. Scams operate across multiple platforms, often facilitated by organised criminal networks that know exactly how to game the system. ### Why this matters for business professionals If you work in marketing, compliance, product, or leadership, this isn't just a policy issue. It's a business risk. Your customers are targets. Your ad platform might be the delivery mechanism. And your brand could be impersonated in a scam you never see. > "The scam landscape is increasingly being redefined by overlapping methods across different categories." That's a direct quote from the study, and it should make every platform-dependent business sit up and take notice. ### What platforms can do about it The study assesses existing and emerging mitigation strategies. While it doesn't prescribe a one-size-fits-all fix, it highlights the need for platforms to think beyond takedowns. That means stronger identity verification, better ad transparency, smarter detection of coordinated inauthentic behaviour, and more collaboration with financial institutions and law enforcement. For businesses, the takeaway is simple: don't wait for regulation to force your hand. Understand how scams might touch your customers, train your teams to spot the warning signs, and pressure the platforms you rely on to take this seriously. Financial scams aren't going away. But with better awareness and smarter countermeasures, we can make them harder to pull off.