--- title: Phone Scams Around The World description: Hiya operates and is helping with the fight against spam, scam, and robocalls in over 200 countries and territories. The following ten countries (in order, starting with the worst) have the worst spam/scam problems, we’ve seen yet! image: https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/PhoneScam1-620x420.png --- [![Hiya logo](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/hiya-new-purple.svg)](https://www.hiya.com/) Solutions Solutions [For Mobile Operators Protect your network](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/operators) [For Businesses Brand your calls](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/businesses) [For People Get the mobile app](https://www.hiya.com/products/apps/hiya-spam-blocker) ###### Webinar Branded Calling 101 Weekly Webinar Make your company's calls more recognizable. Learn how Hiya can drive value for your business. 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The following ten countries (in order, starting with the worst) have the worst spam/scam problems, we’ve seen yet! •**United Kingdom** Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) Scam: Caller informs the recipient that they can be reimbursed for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI), but will first ask for an up front payment in order to enable them to receive the money. •**United States** Internal Revenue Services (IRS) Scam: The caller pretends to be with the IRS and usually demands money for unpaid taxes or will trick the recipient into sharing private information. •**Canada** Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) Scam: Similar to the IRS Scam in the U.S., the caller pretends to be with the CRA and usually demands money for unpaid taxes or will trick the recipient into sharing private information. •**Brazil** Extortion/Kidnapping Scam: These scammers tend to be prison inmates who call random phone numbers and demand payment for the return of a “kidnapped” family or friend. •**Germany** Prank Call Spam: These callers reach victims through an app called Juasapp that allows users to pick a joke, pick a contact, and send a joke via a phone call. •**France** Ghost Delivery Scam: For this scam, victims get something in the mail that entices them to call a premium phone number where they are then charged a fee per minute. •**Mexico** Extortion/Kidnapping Scam: These scammers tend to be prison inmates who call random phone numbers and demand payment for the return of a “kidnapped” family member or friend. •**Australia** Australia Tax Office (ATO) Scam: Similar to the IRS Scam in the U.S., the caller pretends to be with the ATO and usually demands money for unpaid taxes or will trick the victim into sharing private information. •**Spain** Bank Account Scam: Callers will pretend to be an official representative of the bank and will request sensitive information or items which allow them access to the victim’s bank accounts. •**Italy** Solar Energy Scam: Fake agents pretend to be from a company representing a utility service and will ask for account information to do a price comparison, but will ultimately use that information to sign the victim up for the service they are representing. [![banner-hiya-reg](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/banner-hiya-reg.jpg)](https://www.hiya.com/products/connect/number-registration) ### Latest Articles ⚡️ - Hiya awarded 16 G2 Summer 2026 badges for branded caller ID Lena Prickett Jul. 9, 2026 - How Canada is leading the fight to stop bank scams Stephanie Boulanger Jun. 26, 2026 - How to check phone numbers for spam labels Michelle Wallace Jun. 9, 2026 ## Related articles ![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/rogers-toronto-event-blog-hero.webp) ## [How Canada is leading the fight to stop bank scams](https://blog.hiya.com/how-canada-is-leading-the-fight-to-stop-bank-scams?hsLang=en) Stephanie Boulanger Jun. 26, 2026 ![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/Blog_How-to-check-phone-numbers-for-spam-labels_B.webp) ## [How to check phone numbers for spam labels](https://blog.hiya.com/how-to-check-phone-numbers-for-spam-labels?hsLang=en) Michelle Wallace Jun. 9, 2026 ![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/Hiya%20x%20DNA-blog@2x.webp) ## [Hiya and DNA Finland launch network-level call protection](https://blog.hiya.com/hiya-and-dna-finland-launch-network-level-call-protection?hsLang=en) Stephanie Boulanger Jun. 2, 2026 [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/hiya-new-purple.svg)](https://www.hiya.com/) [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/linkedin-1.svg)](https://www.linkedin.com/company/hiyainc) [![](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/facebook-1.svg)](https://www.facebook.com/hiyainc/) ###### Products - Connect - [Number Registration](https://www.hiya.com/products/connect/number-registration) - [Branded Call](https://www.hiya.com/products/connect/branded-call) - [View Plans](https://www.hiya.com/products/connect/pricing) - Protect - [Spam Analytics](https://www.hiya.com/products/protect/spam-analytics) - [AI Voice Detection](https://www.hiya.com/products/protect/ai-voice-detection) - Apps - [Hiya Spam Blocker](https://www.hiya.com/products/apps/hiya-spam-blocker) - [Hiya AI Phone](https://www.hiya.com/products/apps/hiya-ai-phone) ###### Solutions - Company size - [Enterprise](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/enterprise) - [Call Centers](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/call-center) - [Small and Medium](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/businesses) - Service providers - [Operators](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/operators) - [OEMs and technology](https://www.hiya.com/solutions/technology-partners) ###### Considering Hiya? - [Why Hiya](https://www.hiya.com/why-hiya) - [How it Works](https://www.hiya.com/how-it-works) - [Customer Stories](https://www.hiya.com/case-studies) - [Voice Intelligence Platform](https://www.hiya.com/why-hiya/voice-intelligence-platform) - [Trust Center](https://www.hiya.com/why-hiya/trust-center) - [Modern Slavery](https://www.hiya.com/company/modern-slavery) - [About Hiya](https://www.hiya.com/company/about) - [Careers: We're hiring!](https://www.hiya.com/company/careers) - [Contact us](https://www.hiya.com/contact-us) ###### Resources - [Resource Center](https://www.hiya.com/resources) - [Partner Program](https://partners.hiya.com/) - [Get Support](https://hiya.com/support) - [Developer Docs](https://developer.hiya.com/) - [Hiya Blog](https://hiya.com/blog) - [Events](https://www.hiya.com/events) - [Press Kit](https://www.hiya.com/newsroom#press-kit) ![ANAB](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/logo-anab.svg) ![ISO 27001](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/logo-iso27017.png) ![AICPA](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/logo-aicpa.svg) ![IAF](https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/logo-iaf.svg) [Privacy Policy](https://www.hiya.com/legal/privacy) [Terms of Service](https://www.hiya.com/legal/terms-of-service) [App Data Privacy Policy](https://www.hiya.com/legal/app-data-protection-and-privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Hiya Team", "url" : "https://blog.hiya.com/author/hiya-team" }, "dateModified" : "2022-09-07T18:55:31.314Z", "datePublished" : "2020-09-20T22:05:51.000Z", "headline" : "Phone Scams Around The World", "image" : [ "https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/PhoneScam1-620x420.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.hiya.com/phone-scams-around-world/", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.hiya.com/hubfs/hiya-logo-3.svg" }, "name" : "Hiya Inc." } } ```