Fourteen Percent Fell Victim to Scams in the Past Year, as Social Media Overtook Email as Cybercriminals’ Preferred Delivery Channel; AI Scams Emerge as a Growing Consumer Fear

Bitdefender, a leading global cybersecurity company, today released the 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey, based on an independent survey of more than 7,000 consumers worldwide. The report reveals key cybersecurity behaviors, practices, and concerns shaping how individuals engage with technology in their daily lives, highlighting persistent gaps that leave many vulnerable to malware, fraud, scams, and data theft. This year’s findings also underscore the double-edged role of artificial intelligence (AI): while it powers advanced protections for consumers, it is also being weaponized by cybercriminals to create more convincing scams and mislead the public.

“These findings highlight the growing importance of cybersecurity awareness as attacks on consumers become more frequent and sophisticated in the age of AI,” said Ciprian Istrate, senior vice president of operations at Bitdefender Consumer Solutions Group. “Bitdefender has long pioneered the use of ‘good’ AI to combat cybercrime, but threat actors are now leveraging it to enhance their attacks. Strong passwords, mindful cookie management, and trusted security solutions can go a long way toward reducing risk. Cybercriminals are relentless, but awareness and the right tools empower consumers to defend themselves.”

The 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey is based on an independent survey and analysis of over 7,000 consumers across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and the United States (U.S.).

Key findings from the 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey include:

• AI scams dominate consumer fears – When asked about artificial intelligence, the top concern was its use in sophisticated scams such as deepfakes (37%), followed by job loss (30%) and misinformation (29%). Regional concerns vary: U.K. respondents were most worried about AI replacing human jobs (39%), while Germany, Italy, and Spain ranked misinformation as the second-highest threat after scams. Generationally, nearly half of those 55+ (46%) worry about AI scams compared to just over a third of Millennials (34%).
• Scams continue to hit consumers hard – Fourteen percent of respondents (1 in 7) reported falling victim to a scam in the past year, with an additional 4% unsure. Based on an average scam loss of $545*, that equates to over $534,000 lost among survey participants alone. The U.S. led in scam victims at 17%, followed by the U.K. (16%) and Australia (16%), while France had the lowest at 11%.
• Social media overtakes email as cybercriminals’ top channel for scams – Social media is now the leading medium for successful scams at 34%, surpassing email (28%), phone calls (25%), text messages (24%), and online ads (21%). Age differences are notable: respondents aged 25–34 were more than twice as likely as those 55+ to be scammed via social media (43% vs 20%). Bitdefender research aligns with these results, showing a sharp increase in criminals leveraging social media for malvertising, malware distribution, and hijacking high-profile accounts.
• Consumers juggle an average of five online accounts – Respondents reported managing an average of five online accounts, with nearly two-thirds holding at least three. About one-third (32.8%) have 3–5 accounts, and another 32.4% have 6–9 accounts, a slight dip compared to 2024. U.K. respondents led with the most (40% holding 6–9 accounts), while Spain (21.7%) and France (25.6%) had the fewest.
• Poor password practices continue to undermine security – Over one-third (37%) of respondents still write down passwords, while 32% reuse the same password across multiple accounts. U.S. (42.6%) and Italian (41.6%) respondents were most likely to write down passwords, while U.K. respondents were least likely (29.9%). Meanwhile, 27% use password managers, 16% rely on browser autofill, and 13.6% use Apple’s password autofill feature. Younger consumers (ages 16–34) were more likely than those 55+ to reuse passwords across three or more accounts (20% vs 14%), with higher rates of poor password hygiene among those who had been scammed (23%) versus those who had not (16%).
• Cookie complacency endangers both privacy and security – Nearly half (48%) of respondents accept all cookies by default, while only 36% manually manage them and 16% reject all. Alarmingly, 75% said they don’t read—or only skim—the terms before accepting. Convenience drove behavior: 70% said they accepted all cookies to reach content quickly, while 25% were unconcerned about data tracking. This leaves consumers open to privacy and security risks, as cookies can enable profiling, data exploitation, and even session hijacking.
• Mobile and device security often overlooked – Nearly half (48%) of respondents do not use a third-party security solution on their phone, even though 53% conduct sensitive transactions such as bill payments or online shopping. Device protection is also lacking: 58% of respondents reported not securing their computers with third-party solutions, and 82% said the same of their tablets. U.S. respondents were least likely to protect their phones (44.3%), compared to higher adoption in Spain and Italy (57%). Alarmingly, nearly 10% admitted to using work devices for personal financial transactions, creating both personal risk and organizational exposure.

Data Sources

Bitdefender commissioned Censuswide, a leading international market research consultancy, to survey and analyze responses from 7,009 consumers aged 16 to 55+. The survey and analysis were conducted between June and September 2025 across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S.

To download a complimentary copy of the full Bitdefender 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey, visit here.

*Source: Exploding Topics, “How many people have been scammed (2025 statistics),” June 5, 2025.

About Bitdefender

Bitdefender is a cybersecurity leader delivering best-in-class threat prevention, detection, and response solutions worldwide. Guardian over millions of consumer, enterprise, and government environments, Bitdefender is one of the industry’s most trusted experts for eliminating threats, protecting privacy, digital identity, and data, and enabling cyber resilience. With deep investments in research and development, Bitdefender Labs discover hundreds of new threats each minute and validates billions of threat queries daily. The company has pioneered breakthrough innovations in antimalware, IoT security, behavioral analytics, and artificial intelligence. Its technology is licensed by more than 180 of the world’s most recognized technology brands. Founded in 2001, Bitdefender has customers in 170+ countries with offices around the world. For more information, visit https://www.bitdefender.com.

Trusted. Always.

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Bitdefender has long pioneered the use of ‘good’ AI to combat cybercrime, but threat actors are now leveraging it to enhance their attacks. Strong passwords, mindful cookie management, and trusted security solutions can go a long way toward reducing risk.