Ensuring a Safe Digital Space Now: tackling the growth of scams on social media platforms

Together, the undersigned organisations, are sounding the alarm about the growing proliferation of scams on social media platforms. We call on the relevant EU and national authorities to ensure that tech platforms fully comply with their obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

We are concerned by the inadequate measures platforms have taken to prevent, detect and mitigate harms. Social media platforms have become major vectors for a wide range of scams. According to the European Central Bank, fraud losses reached €4.2 billion in 2024 alone and numbers are rising. Beyond the financial damage, frauds have severe emotional and psychological consequences for victims. Online scams also erode trust in the online environment and undermine the reliability of digital services.

While platforms claim to be addressing these risks, the evidence suggests otherwise. Published risk assessment documents reveal a troubling underestimation of the scale and severity of the problem. The scams circulating on these platforms are specifically designed to exploit users' financial circumstances, health concerns, and psychological vulnerabilities. They are also particularly dangerous to minors. Many scams rely on the impersonation of legitimate businesses, trusted brands, media pages, or public figures to create a false sense of credibility and deceive users.

It is time for the EU to hold platforms accountable for the risks and harms they enable. We urge the European Commission and all relevant national authorities to accelerate their investigations and take decisive enforcement action.  EU law and the Digital Services Act and the principle of safety by design must be swiftly and fully complied with.
Europeans deserve to be safe online. Together, we can build a safer online ecosystem—one in which scams are effectively tackled, platforms are held accountable, and consumers can engage online with confidence and trust.

 (Non-exhaustive) list of research and evidence

• BEUC (2026), Sponsored by Scammers: How Social Media and Digital Platforms Facilitate Fraud. Brussels.

• 5rights Foundation (2022), Child Online Safety Toolkit and (2024) A High Level of Privacy, Safety & Security for Minors. London. More information: The digital world is risky by design, leading children to harm. - 5rights

• European Digital Media Observatory (2025), EDMO Annual Work Programme and Research Reports on Online Disinformation. Florence.

• European Commission (2026), Commission fines Temu €200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act. Brussels: European Commission. 

• European Banking Authority and European Central Bank (2025), Joint EBA-ECB Report on Payment Fraud: Strong Authentication Remains Effective but Fraudsters are Adapting. Frankfurt.

• Federal Trade Commission (2026), New FTC Data Show People Have Lost Billions to Social Media Scams. Washington, D.C.

• Fundación Maldita.es (2026), Digital Platforms are Funding Disinformation and Their Own Opacity Prevents the Phenomenon from Being Fully Studied. Madrid.

• Fundación Maldita.es (2026), Verified scams: how Meta’s blue checkmark legitimizes 67 thousand fraudulent ads. Madrid.

• ÖIAT (2026), Stress Testing Advertising Repositories. Vienna.

• Reset Tech (2026). Clickbait Cures: Unmasking the Deceptive Health Ad Infrastructure on Meta and Google.
  People vs. BigTech (2024), Briefing: protecting children and young people from addictive design - People vs. Big Tech. London.

• UK Safer Internet Centre (2025), Almost half of 8 to 17-year-olds have been scammed online - UK Safer Internet Centre.

• WHAT TO FIX (2026), DSA complaint: Meta’s monetization enforcement failures; (2025) De-Risking Social Media Monetisation.