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Marrakech – A recent global study, shared with Morocco World News (MWN) by Kaspersky in a press release, sheds light on the scale and speed of messaging-based fraud targeting Moroccan consumers. The study’s findings reveal that 49.3% of scams in Morocco conclude in under 30 minutes, with victims surrendering money or personal data before suspicion ever sets in.
Conducted by Censuswide in April, the study surveyed 2,806 scam victims aged 16 to 61 across Europe, North America, and Africa – including Morocco, Senegal, and Ivory Coast. It is the first global research effort to quantify both the financial and emotional toll of messaging fraud at this scale.
Globally, more than half of victims (52%) handed over money or personal information in under 30 minutes. One in seven did so in less than five minutes. The scams begin overwhelmingly on everyday platforms: WhatsApp (50.4%), Facebook (44.4%), and Telegram (30.8%).
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of cases spread across multiple channels, migrating from SMS to WhatsApp or WhatsApp to Telegram to mimic routine conversations and evade detection.
In Morocco, the average financial loss stands at $733 per victim – a figure that can represent an entire month of household expenses, including groceries, transport, and utility bills. The global average sits at $504.28, placing Morocco well above the international benchmark.
While 36% of victims lost amounts below $135, nearly 8% lost more than $1,350. The damage is rarely a one-off event. Over a quarter of victims (28%) reported being scammed three or more times within six months, indicating that once identified as vulnerable, individuals are repeatedly targeted.
Beyond the monetary hit, the data stolen is extensive. The most frequently compromised information in Morocco includes full names (40.5%), email addresses (35.1%), and phone numbers (34.2%). This fuels what the study describes as a full-scale identity theft economy built on stolen credentials and personal data.
Read also: Kaspersky, INTERPOL Flag 2.1 Million Compromised Credentials During AFCON 2025
The study found that victims span generations, from Gen Z to Gen X, showing that neither experience nor digital literacy offers enough protection when scams move quickly and imitate familiar messages.
Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed the threat. The era of poorly written scam messages with obvious red flags is over. In Morocco, 42.4% of victims believe the fraudulent message they received was AI-generated. A striking 62.4% suspect that synthetic voices or deepfake images were deployed during the scam.
Fraudsters now clone writing styles, vocal tones, and even personal relationships to bypass skepticism regardless of a victim’s digital literacy.
Elisabeth Carter, forensic linguist and criminologist at Kingston University London, noted that scammers “exploit familiar contexts” and “well-established linguistic norms” to make victims feel their decisions are “rational and reasonable in the moment.”
She warned that identifying “a false reality while inside it” remains extremely difficult, urging people to involve trusted contacts in their online decisions.
The emotional aftermath persists long after the financial damage. In Morocco, 52% of victims still report anger months later, 48.8% remain emotionally affected, and 25.6% continue to feel frustration well beyond the incident.
For Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), this new wave of scams is “designed to be indistinguishable from everyday communications.”
He stressed that “awareness alone is no longer sufficient protection,” calling on consumers to combine verification habits with real-time security tools capable of detecting threats before hasty decisions are made.
Kaspersky recommends pausing before responding to urgent messages, verifying identities through independent channels, using unique passwords with a dedicated manager, and deploying security solutions that flag malicious links in real time.
