Spain experiences high rates of phone spam and fraud

In the previous four quarters, Spain has had the highest spam rate in Europe. But in Q4 2023, Spain’s 46% spam rate was edged out by France’s 47% rate. While a drop from its top ranking may sound positive, the percentage of unwanted fraudulent calls in Spain is double that of France. Only residents of Sweden receive a higher rate of fraud calls.

Those findings come from Hiya’s Q4 2023 Global Call Threat Report, which tracks spam and fraud rates in 39 countries worldwide. The spam rate measures the percentage of unwanted calls (both nuisance and fraud) from numbers not in an individual’s contact list, while the fraud rate measures illegal scam calls.

Download Hiya’s Q4 2023 Global Call Threat Report 

Nearly half (46%) of the unidentified calls in Spain are spam; of those unwanted calls, 8% are fraud.

Top scam calls in Spain

Scam calls impersonating banks were Spain's most reported type of fraudulent calls during the fourth quarter of 2023. Insurance (seguros) scams came in a close second. Package (paquete) delivery and cryptocurrency (criptomonedas) scams were also common in Spain, as they are in many other countries.

Also making a list are family member scams (familia), in which fraudsters pose as a daughter, son, grandchild, or other family members in trouble and need an urgent money transfer.

Learn more about phone scams around the world

Want to learn more about global phone scams? Download Hiya’s Q4 2023 Global Call Threat Report.

The Global Call Threat Report breaks down spam and fraud rates by region, including Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. The report also highlights the most common scam calls in the US, Canada, UK, Spain, France, Germany, and Brazil.

You can download the report by clicking below.