Payment fraud in Ireland surges 27% to €179m, Central Bank warns

Fraudulent payments in Ireland jumped 27% to €179m in 2025, with authorised push payment fraud now accounting for 45% of total fraud by value.

Irish payment fraud jumps to €179m as manipulation scams drive sharp rise

The value of fraudulent payments reported by Irish payment service providers rose by more than a quarter last year, reaching €179m, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Ireland — as reported by Google News IE — Crime (en).

Central Bank data shows fraudulent payments totalled €179.04m in 2025, up from €140.8m the previous year, a rise of 27%. Despite the sharp increase in value, the number of individual fraud transactions rose only marginally, with fraud affecting approximately one in 10,000 payment transactions.

Authorised push payment (APP) fraud — where criminals use social engineering to deceive consumers into authorising payments themselves — now accounts for 45% of total fraud by value, equivalent to €74.86m. That share was 35.2% in 2024. Within credit transfers specifically, APP fraud represents 67.2% of all such fraud, up from 45.6% the previous year.

Cross-border transactions dominated the fraud landscape. Payments sent to accounts outside Ireland accounted for 69.8% of total fraudulent payment value, or €124.89m — an increase of 6.3 percentage points compared with 2024.

Cheques, despite carrying a lower overall fraud rate, recorded the highest average fraud value per transaction at €9,741. Credit transfers ranked second at an average of €2,412. Payments made through e-money institutions posted a notable rise in average fraud value, climbing from €692 in 2024 to €1,427 in 2025.

Colm Kincaid, deputy governor for consumer and investor protection at the Central Bank, called on financial firms and technology companies to strengthen their defences. "As we see criminals become ever more sophisticated in their approach, all actors in the system from financial firms to technology companies need to continue to improve their systems and controls to reduce the likelihood of these frauds occurring," Kincaid said.

He added that firms must also ensure affected consumers receive appropriate and timely support when fraud does occur, and that the Central Bank has work under way with regulated firms to improve customer service in fraud cases.

Kincaid pointed to a significant gap in reporting. Central Bank research found that 38% of fraud victims never report their experience to their financial service provider or any authority. "Fraud victims who report their experience are more likely to recover their money," he said, urging anyone who falls victim to contact their provider immediately.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)