According to an institutional report published by the newspaper La Prensa, an average of 16 fraud complaints are filed daily in the country, concentrated mainly in the provinces of Panama, Panama Oeste, and Chiriqui.

Behind each number are similar stories—items that never arrived, payments sent to phantom accounts, promises that vanish after a block—and one constant: the feeling of having been deceived in a space that seemed safe.

The study also reveals a sustained increase in cases over the last seven years, with a marked spike following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The most significant jump, according to the report, occurred in 2020, when cases rose to 3,586 amidst health restrictions and the surge in informal digital transactions.

By 2021, the number of complaints had skyrocketed to 5,354, more than double the number reported two years earlier, confirming a trend of accelerated expansion of scams, particularly those linked to e-commerce, fake loans, and deceptive offers.

Although 2022 saw another increase, with 5,514 cases, and 2023 a slight decrease to 5,068 complaints, the data shows that the phenomenon remains at historically high levels.

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