There was an increase in the incidents of fraud in payments in Cyprus in the second half of 2024, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) statistical report. Despite the rise, Cyprus remains below the average of the euro area in both volume and value.
The total volume of fraud increased by 34%, reaching 14,000 transactions, while total value increased by 26% and stood at three million euros, compared to the same period in 2023. In the euro area, increases were lower, with 7% in volume and 22% in value.
The largest increase was recorded in card payments, which identified 13,000 incidents, accounting for 94% of the total. Despite the volume, card loss was EUR 1.2 million, representing 39% of total fraud. Almost all cases (99%) involved unauthorized transactions, mainly in online markets, while 95% of the incidents occurred online. Transactions at points of sale with a physical presence had minimal cases.
Credit frauds were less in number, but represented the highest damage, about € 1.8 million, accounting for 60% of the total. The dominant form was the manipulation of the payer (known as Authorized Push Payment Fraud), which for 75% of the cases of credit transportation.
Particularly high is the risk of cross -border payments. On cards, payments outside Cyprus were 25 times more likely to be fraudulent than domestic, while in the transfers of the cross -border was ten times more vulnerable.
The application of strict identity (SCA) has proved to be decisive for reducing fraud, as sca transactions had a five -time scam percentage than those without SCA. On the contrary, checks and direct charges have exhibited negligible incidents in volume and value.
Despite the rise, the fraud rate over all payments remains extremely low, below 0.002% for cards and below 0.01% for credits. Cyprus is still lower than the average of the eurozone both in volume and in the value of incidents.
Source: KYPE