Card Fraud Accounts for 94% of Payment Fraud Cases in Cyprus, Central Bank Says

Payment fraud in Cyprus is on the rise, but the latest data suggest the country still records lower levels of fraud than the euro area average. The Central Bank of Cyprus released its first statistical report on payment fraud covering the second half of 2024, shedding light on how criminals exploit different types of non-cash transactions.

Card Fraud Dominates by Volume

According to the report, card fraud made up 94% of all fraudulent transactions by volume. However, when measured by value, the largest losses came from credit transfers, which accounted for 60% of fraudulent activity. Card payments followed with 39% of the total fraud value.

The findings highlight a clear difference in fraud patterns: while cards are most frequently misused, high-value fraud tends to involve tricking account holders into transferring money directly to fraudsters.

The Central Bank’s analysis shows that 75% of fraudulent credit transfers involved scams where victims were manipulated into making payments. In contrast, 99% of card fraud cases stemmed from criminals using stolen or unauthorized customer information.

The report also found that fraud linked to card use was almost entirely concentrated in online transactions, despite most legitimate card payments still taking place at physical points of sale.

Cross-Border Transactions Carry Higher Risk

Fraudulent activity was far more common in cross-border transactions compared with domestic payments. For card transactions, the risk of fraud occurring outside Cyprus was about 25 times higher. This stark difference underscores the challenges regulators and payment providers face in securing international transactions.

The Central Bank said the implementation of strong customer authentication rules has helped reduce the risk of card fraud. The measures appear to have strengthened the resilience of the payment system, even as fraud attempts continue to rise.

The Central Bank of Cyprus emphasized that monitoring and publishing payment fraud data plays a key role in improving transparency and guiding further regulatory action. The new statistical releases will serve as a benchmark for assessing trends in future reporting periods.