Scams have become a daily threat for nearly half of all mobile users, new data from Malwarebytes reveals.

Their research from 1,300 mobile users across the globe details a world where mobile scams are no longer the exception, they are the rule.

Nearly half of all users (44%) encounter mobile scams daily, with exposure reaching its highest levels in the US (51%), and UK (49%), being notably lower in central Europe (38%).

Yet the majority (66%) say its hard to tell apart a scam from the real thing. Only 15% of people strongly agree they could detect a scam.

And the impact is real, with over half of victims suffering financial loss or fraud (52%), and more than a quarter (27%) losing access to critical digital assets like accounts, devices, or irreplaceable files.

Yet one in four users say they’ve stopped caring – accepting scams as an inevitable cost of being online.

Scams are prevalent and even impacting younger generations. Over a third (36%) of users have fallen victim to a mobile scam, and three in four have encountered social engineering attempts like phishing and impersonation scams.

Gen Z was actually hit the hardest: 58% have encountered, and 28% have fallen victim to extortion scams, including deepfakes and sextortion. This is far higher than Gen X (35% encountered, 15% fell victim), and Boomers (23% encountered, 7% fell victim).

AI tools are now accessible to everyone, including cyber-criminals, making scams harder to spot than ever before. Two-thirds of people are worried about the future of AI and how realistic scams are going to become.

Emotional fallout appears to be widespread, as 75% of victims report serious emotional consequences, and 46% struggle with mental health effects like anxiety, depression, and lost trust.

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Despite this, scams are going widely unreported. The UK lost around £722 million in 2024, according to UK Finance, with 3.13 million confirmed cases of unauthorised fraud.

Yet, only 17% of victims report scams to authorities, and the number is even lower for younger generations (14%).

“It’s clear that mobile threats aren’t just technical, they’re deeply personal,” said David Ruiz, senior privacy advocate, Malwarebytes. “Our report reveals not only the scale of the issue, but also its psychological impact.

“As cyber threats grow more sophisticated and cyber-criminals truly adopt deepfake and AI technologies, we must go beyond raising awareness and empower users with the right tools and knowledge. No one should accept scams as the cost of digital life. There is no shame, we want people to feel confident spotting, stopping and reporting scams, no matter how intimate.”