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The global scam pandemic is a threat no one can defeat alone. That’s why F-Secure joined the Global Anti-Scam Summit (GASS) Americas 2025 in Arlington, Virginia, on December 3–4, 2025. Hosted by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), the summit brought together leaders from government, law enforcement, financial services, technology, consumer protection, and cyber security to coordinate a stronger cross-border response.
The urgency behind this work is clear. In the United States alone, scams reported to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center drove losses of about $16.6 billion in 2024, a 33% year-over-year increase. And because underreporting remains significant, real losses are likely even higher.
GASS Americas reinforced a belief we’ve held for years: scams thrive in the spaces between industries and jurisdictions, so prevention must be a whole-society effort. That means aligning incentives and defenses across telecoms, banks, online platforms, regulators, and cyber security providers.
For F-Secure, the summit was both a learning and collaboration moment. We work with GASA as a Foundation Partner to share intelligence on new scam tactics, support awareness efforts, and help build practical protections that reduce harm for everyday people.
What is changing in the scam landscape?
Across insightful sessions and important conversations, a consistent big picture emerged.
1. Scams have industrialized
Fraud is shifting from isolated, opportunistic attacks to organized, global operations powered by professional tooling and process discipline. Many groups now operate like businesses, using training scripts, quotas, and customer relationship management systems to manage victims at scale. The speed and professionalism of these operations have fundamentally changed the threat landscape.
2. Grooming scams are replacing quick hits
Criminals are increasingly investing weeks or months to build trust before introducing financial hooks. Relationship-driven scams now often blend romance, investment, impersonation fraud, and long-term psychological manipulation. The goal is higher conversion rates and larger losses per victim, not just high-volume small theft.
3. AI is accelerating emotional manipulation
AI-assisted scams are not only cheaper to run, they are more convincing. Summit speakers highlighted how hyper-personalized messages, deepfake images, and adaptive scripts are helping criminals mirror victims’ emotions in real time. Fake investment platforms have also become remarkably sophisticated, mimicking legitimate brokers with live charts, “earnings” dashboards, withdrawal portals, and even customer support. For consumers, the line between real and fake keeps getting harder to see.
4. Visual deception is exploding
Deepfakes, synthetic screenshots, and manipulated images are now key attack vectors. At the same time, scam categories are blurring: romance scams bleed into investment scams, phishing merges with impersonation fraud, and “wrong number” messages can turn into months-long financial grooming cycles. This convergence makes it harder for people to recognize risk early, especially when the scam arrives through a channel they previously trusted.
What the data tells us
Referenced in the summit, GASA’s The Global State of Scams 2025 report and its US-specific version highlight how broad and personal the crisis has become:
Global scam losses are estimated at least $442 billion, heavily underreported in most regions.
In the U.S., 70% of adults have experienced a scam, and about 22% have lost money, showing that exposure is mainstream, not niche.
Around 23% of the global population has lost money to scammers in the last 12 months.
69% of adults globally who were scammed felt very or somewhat stressed by the experience.
The emotional impact of scams is often as severe as the financial harm. Victims describe shame, betrayal, and isolation, which can delay support and reduce reporting. When users are overwhelmed and social-engineered over time, awareness alone cannot carry the full defense burden.
Key takeaways for service providers
For service providers, scams are now a trust issue as much as a security issue. Every successful scam damages confidence in digital services, communication channels, and brands. The conversations and presentations at GASS Americas point to three partner-relevant implications:
Protection needs to be proactive, not reactive. Waiting for users to identify and report scams is not working at today’s scale. The most effective models focus on early disruption of grooming behaviors and scam infrastructure before money moves.
AI-driven defense is becoming table stakes. If criminals use AI to personalize and automate attacks, defenders need AI to detect behavioral cues, block malicious content, and intervene in real time.
Frictionless protection matters. Consumers are overconfident about spotting scams, yet under-equipped to handle industrialized deception. Solutions that require constant user judgment or manual reporting will miss too much and burden people already under stress.
The main takeaway for service providers is straightforward: incorporating smarter, real-time scam protection into everyday customer experiences is fast becoming critical to how trusted providers protect customers, differentiate their offering, and retain loyalty long-term.
Discover more in our webinars with GASA
For a deeper dive into the trends discussed at the summit, we recommend our recent webinars with GASA experts.
Discover the latest findings on scams from GASA Managing Director Jorij Abraham, the opportunity for mobile and broadband service providers, and how to win consumer trust with AI-powered scam protection: The CSP Opportunity in Scam Protection
Explore the most significant scam shifts from the past year and what organizations can expect next: Scam Pandemic Insights: F-Secure & GASA on threat landscape evolution and consumer trust.
You can also browse our full partner webinar library for previous sessions with GASA and other industry leaders.
Looking ahead
This year's summit reinforced what we've always believed at F-Secure: the fight against online scams can't be won in isolation. It requires a united front of cyber security leaders, policymakers, tech platforms, financial institutions, and research communities working together with shared intelligence and coordinated action.
Thank you to GASA, all the speakers, and every organization working tirelessly to make the digital world safer. The connections made at the summit will fuel stronger defenses for everyone.