Bank manipulation fraud up 34 per cent in France in 2025
Manipulation scams reached 516 million euros in 2025, a 34 per cent increase in a year. Data leaks are amplifying the phenomenon, according to the Bank of France.
Manipulation fraud: 516 million euros diverted in France
Amounts linked to manipulation fraud involving payment methods surged by 34 per cent in a year to reach 516 million euros, according to figures published on Monday 7 September by the Payment Methods Security Observatory (OSMP) of the Bank of France, reported by boursorama.com.
This type of scam is based notably on the impersonation of bank advisers, who persuade their victims to validate fraudulent transactions themselves. The total amount of payment method fraud rose by 3.8 per cent to reach 1.24 billion euros, despite an 8 per cent drop in the number of fraudulent transactions.
Manipulation scams now represent more than 40 per cent of all payment method fraud, compared with 32.1 per cent in 2024.
No population spared
"There is no population that is exempt from this type of fraud," said Julien Lasalle, secretary of the OSMP, at a press conference. "Everyone, young people, elderly people, upper socio-professional categories… everyone can be confronted with it."
Numerous data leaks recorded in recent months have moreover strengthened fraudsters' capacity to act. Denis Beau, president of the OSMP, stresses that these leaks "favour the spread of manipulation fraud techniques". "Fraudsters use this additional data to reinforce the credibility of phishing messages. Typically, a fake message from the Social Security will be more credible if your social security number is inserted into it," he warns.
Banks call for mobilisation from the digital sector
Faced with this assessment, the French Banking Federation (FBF) has renewed its appeal to digital and telecommunications players to mobilise "in an operational manner" in order to prevent and contain the spread of scams. The FBF is notably calling for faster removal of fraudulent content, better control of advertisers, and reinforced filtering of spoofed calls and messages.
Bank card at lowest fraud rate in history
On the usage side, the bank card remains the dominant payment method. The OSMP notes that its fraud rate fell to 0.047 per cent last year, its lowest level ever recorded.
Mobile payment continues its growth and now represents nearly one in every five proximity card payments. Instant transfers are also gaining ground, accounting for nearly one in every six transfers, a 78 per cent rise in a year.
Conversely, the cheque continues to decline: it now represents just 1.9 per cent of written payments, and the amount of transactions by cheque has fallen by 46 per cent since 2020.
Source: Google News LU FR