This study of 1,180 New Zealand adults shows that scam exposure remained steady, with 83% of participants saying they had encountered a scam, compared with 82% in 2025. While 73% say they are confident in recognizing scams, 44% of those who encountered one interacted with a scammer. Across all respondents, 8% lost money or shared personal information that led to financial loss, and 2% reported a scam to the authorities. Among victims, 60% said being scammed had a significant or moderate impact on their mental wellbeing, and 37% said they had lost money to scams more than once.
