Broker comparison site InvestinGoal looked into data to find out which countries saw the most scams and lost the most money to them, as well as looking into which countries are generally safe from scams.

This analysis revealed that Portugal lost the least amount of money to scams, with a total loss of €1,334,877, a total of 0.07 per capita, and €991 per case.

Many of the countries this data looked into had seen an increase in scams in recent years, particularly due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The only countries which didn’t see an increase in scams were Belgium, Switzerland and Japan - all of which have seen a decrease.

Filippo Ucchino, founder of InvestinGoal, commented: “The pandemic accelerated a process that was already increasing: social isolation and loneliness. This has created the perfect conditions for fraudsters, who have especially targeted the elderly, who are more prone to what is called FEV, Financial Exploitation Vulnerability. Indeed, financial scams, crypto ones in particular, are constantly on the rise.”

Many countries have been trying to prevent scammers by setting up organisations or specialised units to monitor scams, expanding their police force to monitor scams, creating more effective ways to report them and also educating the public.

In Japan, if a resident has been contacted by someone claiming to be a family member or friend in need of money, the victim must notify the police and work with them to catch the scammer - victims can earn 10,000 yen (€77.50) by doing this.

Filippo added: “Unfortunately, these fraudsters will always find a way to get to people. The only thing that can really 'stop them' is by spreading more awareness.”