Skip to content

Online banking fraud now negligible

Published on:

Losses from online banking fraud fell by 82% in the first half of 2016 compared with the final six months of 2015. Total losses from fraud in payments also fell sharply over the past six months, to €4.69 million.

Office worker with debit card in hand is looking at tablet for online payment, with coffee, smartphone and documents on the desk.

In 2015, total losses remained stable at €17.9 million for the full year. These figures come from the Dutch Banking Association and the Dutch Payments Association.
Losses from lost and stolen debit cards also fell in the first half of 2016, but remain the largest category.

Phishing and malware in decline

Losses from online banking fraud were historically low in the first six months of this year at €148,000, compared with €814,000 in the preceding six months. The decrease is also spectacular over a longer period: losses from online banking fraud were still €24.7 million in the first half of 2012.
Fraudsters now make hardly any victims using malware or conventional phishing. Banks are becoming increasingly effective at detecting attempted fraud, while their customers are less easily deceived. Awareness campaigns by the Dutch Payments Association and the banks, together with media coverage of these types of fraud, are paying off.

Remain alert to debit card phishing

Despite a sharp decrease of 37% compared with the preceding six months, stolen or lost debit cards caused the largest fraud losses in payments in the first half of 2016, at €1.62 million. This includes losses from debit card mailing scams, which emerged in early 2015. Victims are persuaded by email, SMS, social media or telephone to send their debit card to a false address by post and enter the associated PIN on a fake website. In January 2016, the banks and the Dutch Payments Association launched a nationwide campaign to warn the public: “Never send your debit card!”

Cooperation and knowledge sharing are key to success

Effective cooperation and the sharing of knowledge and information between financial institutions, cybersecurity companies and public authorities play an important role in reducing fraud in payments. Within the National Cyber Security Centre and the Financial Institutions Information Sharing and Analysis Centre, this cooperation focuses mainly on preventing and detecting cybercrime. In the Electronic Crimes Task Force, the judiciary, police and banks work together to investigate and prosecute cybercriminals. Other EU countries are very interested in this collective Dutch approach to cybersecurity.

Half-yearly developments since 2013 in:

Related articles