Payment fraud surges 30 percent in 2025, reaching €198 million

The number of fraudulent transactions in the Dutch payments system rose by 30 percent in 2025 to 658,000 cases. The monetary value of this fraud increased by 22 percent to €198 million, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) reported.

Bank transfers see largest surge in fraud

De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) reported a 30 percent increase in fraudulent transactions in the Dutch payments system in 2025, totaling approximately 658,000 cases.

The monetary value of these transactions rose by 22 percent to €198 million.

Despite this rise, fraud constitutes a small share of total payments, with 7 out of every 100,000 transactions being fraudulent, equating to around 1,800 fraudulent transactions and €540,000 in fraud daily out of €13 billion in total payments.

The largest increase in fraud cases was observed in European bank transfers, which surged by 55 percent to 129,000 cases.

In monetary terms, this amounted to €148 million in 2025, up from €121 million in 2024.

Fraudsters increasingly use deception, posing as family members or bank staff, to trick consumers and businesses into making transfers, particularly via instant and international payments due to their irreversibility.

Card and ATM fraud also on the rise

While bank transfers saw the largest percentage increase, card payments remained the most common form of fraud by volume, with 514,000 fraudulent transactions in 2025, a rise of over 25 percent from 2024.

This increase was primarily in online payments, often involving stolen card details obtained through phishing.

The total monetary value of card payment fraud reached €41 million last year, up from €36 million in 2024.

Fraud involving cash withdrawals at ATMs also increased, with monetary value rising to €10 million from €6 million, and cases from 12,000 to 15,000. DNB is publishing these new figures semi-annually, based on reports from payment service providers under European requirements.

These figures represent all identified fraudulent transactions, regardless of reimbursement, and do not cover all payment methods.

A persistent, evolving threat

The DNB's first semi-annual report on payment fraud underscores a persistent and evolving threat to the Dutch financial system.

While the overall share of fraudulent transactions remains small, the significant rise in both volume and value, particularly in hard-to-reverse instant payments, highlights the urgent need for enhanced consumer awareness and robust security measures.

The incomplete data coverage, excluding key areas like e-money and direct debits, suggests the true scale of the problem may be even larger, demanding a more comprehensive reporting framework.