AN expat-owned anti-fraud firm in Malaga is calling for an EU-wide code of conduct to help tackle online scams.
AnyTech365 has joined 21 other companies in urging the European Commission to introduce the code under the Digital Services Act (DSA), setting out how online platforms and other businesses should work together to combat fraud.
The companies, spanning banking, media and consumer sectors, have written to EU technology chiefs asking for the proposal to be included in an upcoming action plan on online fraud.
They want the codes to become a key tool under the DSA, providing specific guidance on how platforms and other stakeholders should work to tackle issues such as hate speech, disinformation and online advertising.
READ MORE: One in four Spaniards either lose money or give up personal data to growing scam wave
Online scams have become a serious problem on social media, as the Olive Press reported this summer.
The 21 firms believe Europe hasn’t gone enough to initiate investigations on this front.
“Online fraud is not a marginal or isolated phenomenon. It is organized, adaptive and increasingly AI-supported, exploiting the speed, scale and reach of the digital environment,” AnyTech365’s Georgi Medzhidiliev told the Olive Press.
“Spain has seen a sharp evolution in scam tactics over the past year, particularly using AI-generated content,” he added.
“Gangs are increasingly impersonating delivery companies and even family members through highly convincing voice messages, cloned identities, and fraudulent text messages.”
Spain has been hit by a wave of new scams with 77% of adults saying that they have encountered an attempt in the past year.
This is a 13% increase in a year and shows that fraud is on the rise, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA).
It is estimated that €6.65 billion was lost in Spain due to scams with one in four Spaniards who interacted with a scam having lost money or personal data.
The average victim lost €1,811, reported the group’s annual State of Scams Report 2026.
Of these, 58% say the experience affected their mental health with an alarming 46% having been victims more than once, suggesting perpetrators are targeting the vulnerable.
Shockingly only 4% of victims report it to the authorities with most being more likely to inform their friends or family.
The groups are still awaiting an official reply from the European tech chief Henna Virkkunen and internal affairs boss Magnus Brunner.
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