Hackers often stay ahead of those trying to fight cyber fraud, continually refining their strategies to target victims from a distance. In 2024, fraudulent transactions totaled 399,000, a slight decrease from 410,000 in 2023.
The year 2024 saw mixed trends in card transaction fraud in Greece. While the overall fraud rate fell significantly due to improved security measures and heightened public awareness, incidents involving online transactions and ATMs increased, underscoring the evolving landscape of cyber threats and the need for ongoing vigilance.
Moreover, since a significant portion of fraud costs falls on consumers, there is a pressing need for more focused protection and support for those using digital payment methods.
Emerging types of fraud mainly target online purchases and ATM withdrawals, shifting more financial loss onto users and payment service providers. Nevertheless, the proportion of fraudulent transactions remains relatively small compared to the total transaction volume.
Rising Types of Fraud
According to the Bank of Greece’s recent Financial Stability Report, 2024 experienced a 4% increase in transactions that do not require physical cards, known as Card-Not-Present (CNP) transactions, rising to 349,000 from 337,000 in 2023. This category also saw a 1% increase in fraud value, reaching €17.7 million, mainly linked to online transactions with foreign merchants, indicating persistent risks for consumers in international e-commerce.
Additionally, ATM-related fraud rose slightly by 2%, with a more significant 22% increase in financial impact, reaching €2.4 million, compared to €2 million in 2023. This trend reflects that even as consumers favor digital payments, traditional methods like ATMs remain susceptible to organized fraud schemes.
Who Suffers from Fraud?
The financial repercussions of fraud are significant and not only affect banks. In 2024, data indicated that consumers (cardholders) faced the largest share of losses, amounting to 58%.
This was followed by payment service providers (such as merchants and POS terminals), who accounted for 35% of the losses, while card issuers (banks) had the least impact, at just 8%. This distribution often depends on who is deemed responsible for the fraud, revealing vulnerabilities in consumer protection within a complex digital landscape.
Notable Decline in POS Fraud – Reasons Behind It
In contrast, there has been a significant drop in POS (Point-of-Sale) transaction fraud, which involves physical card terminals. In 2024, POS fraud transactions decreased by 35%, with total losses declining by 43% to €2.4 million, down from €4.2 million in 2023.
This improvement is largely due to a dramatic reduction in fraud involving lost or stolen cards. Such cases saw a 39% decline in number and a 54% decrease in value—the numbers fell from 65,000 to 39,000 transactions, and from €3.7 million to €1.7 million. Contributing factors include enhanced systems for immediate card blocking and alerts, along with the adoption of secure authentication technologies like 3D Secure.
Overall Reduction in Fraud Intensity – Security Improvements Yield Results
Despite increases in specific fraud categories, overall data reveals a positive trend. The fraud-to-transaction ratio, a key indicator, has significantly decreased compared to the previous year:
- Fraudulent transactions fell by 3%
- Fraud-to-transaction volume ratio decreased to 0.016% (1 fraud per 6,300 transactions), a drop of 14%
- Fraud-to-transaction value ratio fell to 0.020% (1 euro lost for every €4,900 transacted), down 13% compared to 2023
The Significance of Education and Prevention
The encouraging outcomes detailed in the Bank of Greece’s annual report are attributed to a blend of prevention and awareness initiatives that include:
- The ongoing anti-cyber fraud campaign since 2021, in partnership with the Hellenic Bank Association, Ministry of Citizen Protection, Greek Police, and the Bank of Greece.
- A February 2024 campaign with MasterCard focusing on new fraud techniques and countermeasures.
- Informative content shared on the Bank of Greece’s social media during the OECD’s Global Money Week, which included a video on secure digital payments.
These efforts appear to be yielding positive results, as an increasing number of citizens are becoming adept at recognizing suspicious activities and exercising greater caution with their financial transactions.
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