Fraudulent payments in Cyprus: €3.7 million losses in second half of 2025
The value of fraudulent payments in Cyprus increased 16% compared with last year, reaching €3.7 million in the second half of 2025, according to the Central Bank.
Payment fraud: €3.7 million losses in Cyprus — credit transfers with highest average in eurozone
The value of fraudulent payments in Cyprus reached nearly €3.7 million during the second half of 2025, marking a 16% increase on an annual basis, even as the number of incidents fell by 5% to approximately 14,000. These figures were published by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), as reported by Cyprus Mail.
Despite the increase in value, payment fraud remained relatively limited both in absolute terms and as a percentage of total transactions. Fraud rates for most payment methods are below the eurozone average. The exception is credit transfers measured by value, where the Cypriot rate slightly exceeds the corresponding European indicator.
Cards and credit transfers: two dominant means
Card payments continue to account for the overwhelming majority of fraud incidents in Cyprus, representing 93% of the total — approximately 13,000 transactions. This rate is noticeably higher than the 79% recorded in the eurozone, a fact reflecting the wider use of cards on the island. Their number, however, declined marginally compared with the corresponding period in 2024.
At the value level, credit transfers prevail with €2 million — accounting for 56% of the total fraud amount. These are followed by fraudulent card transactions with €1.6 million (43%), while all other payment methods total less than €60,000. The value of fraudulent credit transfers increased by approximately 15% both in Cyprus and in the eurozone, whilst the value of fraudulent card payments increased by approximately 20% in Cyprus, in contrast to a marginal decline in the eurozone.
Higher average value per fraudulent transfer in eurozone
The most notable finding by the CBC concerns the average value of each fraudulent credit transfer: €6,300, more than triple the European average of €1,800. This amount even exceeds the average value of a legitimate credit transfer in Cyprus, which amounts to €4,500. In the eurozone, the corresponding average for legitimate transfers amounts to €6,100.
This means that "even a limited number of fraudulent transactions can be associated with significant financial losses", the CBC states.
Customers and businesses bear the greatest burden
In cases of fraud via credit transfers, users of payment services — that is, individuals and businesses — have historically borne an average of approximately 95% of total recorded losses, with payment service providers and other parties involved absorbing only a small portion. The distribution is different in card and electronic money fraud, where the largest portion of losses falls on other parties involved in the transactions. Fraudulent card and e-money payments were also clearly smaller, with an average amount of approximately €100 per transaction.
Social engineering: the dominant method
Manipulation of the payer dominates fraud via credit transfers, accounting for 70% of cases. These are incidents where perpetrators use social engineering techniques to deceive account holders and persuade them to transfer money to accounts under their control. The remaining 30% concerns unauthorised payments, including transactions carried out with stolen or compromised banking details.
In card and electronic money fraud, unauthorised transactions are even more dominant: they account for 97% of fraudulent card payments and 90% of e-money cases, primarily through misuse of stolen payment credentials.
The CBC notes that these two categories require different approaches: fraud via credit transfers requires measures against social engineering, whilst card and e-money fraud requires strengthened protection of credentials and authentication systems.
Instant transfers and electronic transactions under scrutiny
Instant credit transfers constitute an additional point of concern. The fraud rate by value was, on average, twice as high compared with conventional credit transfers in Cyprus. Each fraudulent instant transfer had an average value of €3,400, more than double the average of €1,500 for instant transfers generally. Although they represent a small share of the total, their increasing use justifies vigilance, as transactions are completed in seconds and recovery margins are narrow.
In electronic card transactions, only 4% of fraudulent payments concern purchases at physical points of sale; 96% are recorded on the internet. However, at the value level, 60% of all card transactions in Cyprus are conducted online compared with 40% at physical terminals.
Verification of Payee: new tool without yet visible results
The Verification of Payee service became mandatory for payment service providers in the eurozone in October 2025. The tool checks whether the payee's name matches the international bank account number (IBAN) before the payment is completed, reducing the risk of fraud and mistaken transfers. Its introduction, however, came towards the end of the examined period, so its impact is not yet visible in the data.
Across the eurozone as a whole, approximately nine million fraudulent transactions were recorded in the second half of 2025, virtually unchanged compared with the corresponding period in 2024, whilst their value increased 8% reaching €1.9 billion.
Source: Cyprus Mail