The amount lost through online investment fraud may be as high as €750 million, 10 times the amount reported to police, financial services watchdog AFM has said.

Only between 5% and 17% of people who have fallen victim to a financial scam report it to the police because they are ashamed or blame themselves, the agency said on Thursday.

Fraud cases are also recorded separately by the AFM and the Fraud Helpdesk, which influences numbers, and the watchdog is calling for a single reporting point for online investment fraud.

“The explosive growth of online scams is very worrying and anyone can fall victim to it, regardless of age, experience or training. It can only be stopped if public and private organisations work closely together,” AFM chairwoman Laura van Geest said.

Investment fraud comes in many guises. One of the best known is the Ponzi scheme, where people are promised big returns if they bring in new investors whose money is then used as “profits”.

Boiler room fraud, where victims are cold-called with complex propositions for investments in fake shares and cryptocurrency, is also rife, as is a follow-up fraud in which the scammers pose as lawyers who can recover their money – only to steal more.

The AFM warned that scams are getting ever more sophisticated, with AI producing near-perfect fake websites and videos in which celebrities recommend investments. “It is getting easier and cheaper. You can buy ready-made scams on the dark web,” she said.

Victims are usually older people wanting to supplement their pensions, working people who want a better return on their savings and young people falling for get-rich-quick schemes.

“People are gradually sucked into something they should leave well alone,” Van Geest told broadcaster NOS. “But all those pretty stories give people hope and make them perhaps a bit greedy,” she said. “You lose sight of the red flags and become a victim. Hope and greed are a lethal combination and scammers know it all too well.”