Don’t miss future insights from the global anti-abuse community.
Subscribe to the M3AAWG blog for automatic updates on new posts.

M3AAWG is sponsoring one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted to better understand how scams impact the lives of Americans. In addition to sponsoring the study, several M3AAWG members have helped design its survey.

In their December 2025 announcement, Gallup and Stop Scams Alliance shared more on their partnership to undertake a wide-ranging survey examining:

• How scammers most commonly reach people.
• The frequency of scams.
• The scale of financial losses.
• Reporting obstacles.
• The social and psychological consequences of scams.

“M3AAWG has stepped in to take an active role in collecting the information needed to support a meaningful survey that will result in actionable insights,” said Ken Westbrook, Founder and CEO, Stop Scams Alliance. “We are grateful to the M3AAWG members who helped build the survey, as the quality of the questions asked is vital to obtaining quality responses.”

M3AAWG's Role in the Survey Framework

Last June, M3AAWG Expert Advisor John Levine facilitated an Open Round Table (ORT) session at our 64th General Meeting in Vancouver, titled “Designing a Nationwide Scam Survey: What Should We Ask?”

Several M3AAWG attendees on-site in Vancouver provided invaluable input during this time that ultimately helped create the initial draft of questions for the survey, according to Ken.

After the ORT in Vancouver, additional comments were submitted by M3AAWG members, which led to more insights that helped craft the survey. The survey was launched by Gallup in early January and is currently being conducted; it will remain open until mid-February. The outcomes of this research will help:

• Identify trends or blind spots in areas we may not have previously fully understood.
• Provide a stronger foundation for addressing and reducing the impact of scams.
• Continue to pursue the most effective prevention strategies based on what we learn.

“This survey is going to help us understand why so many crimes are going unreported, and we need to solve that mystery as we work to equip policymakers, researchers, and private sector leaders with an accurate scope of the issue, so we can get the cross-industry collaborations in place to end the scam crisis in America,” said M3AAWG Board of Directors Chairperson Sara Roper.

What’s Next?

We urge you to subscribe to this blog and follow M3AAWG’s social media channels on Facebook and LinkedIn, as results from the survey will be released in May 2026. We will keep you posted on everything that is discovered.