Reveal Marketing Research Study: 61% of Romanians in urban areas have been the target of online fraud attempts

Reveal Market Resources, study no. 191

The latest study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research analyzed in detail Romanians’ experiences with online scams, as well as  the precautions taken to protect themselves against them.

• The most popular types of online fraud that Romanians would recognize are phishing emails or messages (73%), social media scams (72%) and fraudulent phone calls (69%).
• 6 out of 10 Romanians say they have been the target of online fraud attempts.
• The most common consequences mentioned by victims of online scams are infecting the device with malware or viruses (42%), losing money (30%) and stealing personal data (22%).

61% of Romanians say they have been the target of online fraud attempts, the most common consequences being the infection of the device with malware or viruses (42%) and the loss of money (30%).

According to the latest study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research, 68% of Romanians in urban areas consider themselves well informed and aware of the risks associated with online scams.

Among the most popular types of online fraud that Romanians say they would recognize are phishing emails or messages, such as fake messages that appear to be from banks (73%), followed  by social media scams, such as fake accounts asking for money or personal data (72%). Also, 69% of respondents say they can identify fraudulent phone calls, while 53% say they can recognize fake websites that imitate well-known brands or misleading promotions and contests.

61% of Romanians declare that they have been Target of online fraud attempts, of which 39% have experienced such attacks more than once, and 22% only once.

People aged 35-44 seem to be more exposed to repeated scam attempts, with 49% of them reporting multiple experiences.

In terms of the impact of fraud attempts, the most common consequences reported by victims are infection of the device with malware or viruses (42%), loss of money (30%) and theft of personal data such as banking information, passwords or documents (22%).

The study data shows that young people between 18-24 years old have lost money most often due to online fraud (42%), while mature people between 45-55 years old (49%) and seniors over 55 years old (52%) are more often faced with infecting devices with malware or viruses. Personal data theft is more common among men (27%) compared to women (17%), which may be correlated with the fact that men tend to take more risks online, either through the use of more varied platforms or through greater exposure to trading sites.

What protection measures do Romanians adopt against online fraud and what expectations do they have from brands and companies?

To protect themselves against online scams, Romanians adopt a series of precautions, the most common being avoiding giving personal  data in unsolicited messages (67%), refusing to access suspicious links received by email or SMS (63%) and checking the source of messages and the websites they access (60%).

Also, 42% of respondents use two-factor authentication for their accounts, and 41% use antivirus or security software. As a general trend, seniors over 55 are the most cautious in online interactions.

“Online fraud is taking on new dimensions with the rapid development of artificial intelligence. According to another recent study conducted by Reveal Marketing Research, 41% of Romanians in urban areas feel in difficulty or have not tried to identify content generated by artificial intelligence. Thus, the phenomenon of online scams becomes a major risk, and brands and companies must understand the needs and behaviors of users, as well as security trends, in order to provide them with support,” said Marius Luican, General Manager of Reveal Marketing Research.

Romanians believe that brands and companies can play an essential role in protecting users against online fraud. Among the solutions mentioned are the implementation of systems to verify the authenticity of messages, such as emails with digital signatures (45%), the running information and education campaigns about online scams (25%) and the display of more warnings on websites and apps about the risks of fraud (17%).

This data suggests that while users are taking individual steps to protect themselves, there is a clear need for additional support from companies to effectively combat the growing phenomenon of online fraud.

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About Reveal Marketing Research

Reveal Marketing Research is a full-service market research company, specialized in marketing research, sociological studies, customer insight, business strategy, market development. With expertise in over 20 industries, Reveal Marketing Research believes that market research is the basis for the right decisions and brand positioning. Qualitative and quantitative solutions have been helping companies in Romania and other European countries for 16 years.

Reveal Market Resources, study no. 191: Reveal Market Resources is a data hub that includes free studies published in order to support the marketing and communication market in Romania.

Methodology: The Reveal Marketing Research study was conducted online between 17-21.03.2025 on a nationally representative sample for the universe of people aged 18+, internet users, in urban areas. The sample size was 1000 respondents, and the maximum sampling error is +/-3.1% at a 95% confidence level.