Balgarianovinite.com Bulgarians who mistake fake AI-generated content for real are nearly four times more likely to be tricked by scammers than those who don’t (58% vs. 16%), according to research from Visa.
The research was conducted by Opinium, on behalf of Visa, between August and September 2025. The survey included a nationally representative sample of 9,500 adults in 11 countries in Europe: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechia.
In Bulgaria, Visa found that people who are affected by online scams lose an average of BGN 281 per incident, costing the Bulgarian economy an estimated BGN 160.5 million annually. The impact goes far beyond financial loss, causing emotional distress, increased anxiety and reduced productivity. On average, 26% of Bulgarian victims of online scams spend more than 24 hours resolving the issue.
The way people engage with content online plays a major role. Those who share a post without checking its accuracy first, are more likely to be targeted and impacted by online scams compared to those who tend to take a moment to verify it first (35% vs. 22%). Everyday online habits – such as skimming headlines, resharing without verifying and trusting AI-generated content – are creating new vulnerabilities that scammers are quick to exploit.
The survey reveals that 43% rarely read beyond a headline on social networks or news websites before forming an opinion; 28% have reshared a post without checking its accuracy; 34% of people targeted by scams say they now avoid shopping online. 1.6 million consumers have reduced or completely stopped shopping online after falling victim to fraudulent activity.
Visa comments that this is having a particularly significant impact on independent businesses, which make up 98.8% of Bulgaria’s business population and depend heavily on consumer confidence to survive and grow.
Visa is stepping up the fight against social media scams. In the last five years alone, Visa has invested USD 12 billion in technology, including building smart systems that detect suspicious behaviour in real time and stop scams before they reach people. Bulgarians Who Mistake AI-Generated Content for Real Four Times More Likely to Be Tricked by Scammers, Visa Finds 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-12 17:24:09 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law