MWC26: UNDP calls for coordinated global action as digital scams cost up to $1 trillion annually
Date: 2026-03-03
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
More
than half of people worldwide have been exposed to a digital scam in the past
year, with global losses estimated at between $442 billion and $1 trillion
annually, according to recent research highlighted at MWC Barcelona.
Speaking during a Roundtable on Collaborative
Approaches to Cybersecurity and Scam Prevention, Robert Opp, Chief Digital
Officer at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the scale and
cross-border nature of digital scams require coordinated international action.
He was joined at the session by representatives from the GSMA.
Digital scams, also referred to as
tech-enabled scams, involve deceptive activities that use digital technologies
to manipulate individuals into transferring funds, disclosing sensitive
information, or granting unauthorized access to accounts and identities. Beyond
financial losses, scams inflict social, emotional and psychological harm, while
eroding trust in digital systems and institutions.
According to UNDP’s new Issue Brief
titled “Countering Digital Scams: Stemming the Tide on an Urgent Development
Challenge,” the impact is particularly severe in developing countries. While
victims in developed markets may experience higher average losses per incident,
some developing economies lose between 10 and 11 percent of their GDP to scams.
The report also notes links between the industrialization of digital scams and
the expansion of human trafficking networks.
The Issue Brief identifies four
accelerating trends: rapid digitalization expanding the attack surface;
artificial intelligence lowering the cost and increasing the sophistication of
scams; increasingly targeted tactics across age groups and regions; and
declining institutional trust combined with economic vulnerability, which
heightens susceptibility to manipulation.
UNDP emphasizes that no single
government, platform or institution can address the crisis alone, as scammers
operate across borders and systems simultaneously. The organization calls for
coordinated, whole-of-society responses that span prevention, detection and
victim recovery, with particular attention to strengthening safeguards in
developing countries.
The report
is intended to guide policymakers, practitioners and private-sector
stakeholders in building safer and more inclusive digital ecosystems while
protecting public trust in digital transformation efforts.
