The value of fraudulent payments in Cyprus rose 16% year on year to almost €3.7 million in the second half of 2025, while the number of cases fell 5% to about 14,000, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Across the euro area, around nine million fraudulent transactions were recorded during the same period, broadly unchanged from a year earlier. Their total value increased 8% to €1.9 billion.

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Cards Account For Most Cases, Transfers For Most Losses

Card payments represented 93% of fraudulent transactions in Cyprus, or about 13,000 cases, compared with 79% across the euro area. Credit transfers, however, accounted for the largest share of losses at €2 million, or 56% of the total.

Fraudulent card payments accounted for another €1.6 million, while all other payment instruments together represented less than €60,000. The Central Bank said the increase in fraud value partly reflected the broader growth in payment activity.

Credit Transfer Fraud Produces Larger Losses

Cyprus recorded the highest average value per fraudulent credit transfer in the euro area during the second half of 2025. Each fraudulent transfer averaged €6,300, compared with €1,800 across the euro area and €4,500 for credit transfers in Cyprus overall.

Payer manipulation accounted for 70% of credit transfer fraud cases. These authorised push payment scams typically involve fraudsters persuading customers to send money to accounts controlled by the perpetrators.

Unauthorised payments accounted for the remaining 30% of credit transfer cases. For cards and electronic money, unauthorised transactions represented 97% and 90% of fraud cases, respectively.

Instant Payments Add Another Risk

Fraud involving instant credit transfers was also more costly in Cyprus. The average fraudulent instant transfer was €3,400, compared with €1,500 for instant transfers overall.

Instant payments still represented a relatively small share of credit transfers, but their speed leaves less time to detect or stop suspicious transactions. Verification of Payee became mandatory for euro area payment service providers in October 2025, although its impact was not yet visible in the reporting period.

The system checks whether the recipient’s name corresponds with the IBAN before a payment is completed, helping reduce fraud and payment errors.

Online Payments Account For Most Card Fraud

Online transactions generated 96% of fraudulent card payments by number and 94% by value in Cyprus. Physical point-of-sale transactions accounted for just 4% of cases and 6% of their value.

Credit cards also recorded a fraud rate about 1.5 times higher than debit cards by both number and value. Higher credit limits and larger average transactions may partly explain the difference.

Strong Authentication Reduces Fraud Exposure

Transactions without Strong Customer Authentication had a fraud rate almost four times higher by number and nearly three times higher by value than payments where SCA was used.

SCA requires customers to verify their identity using at least two independent factors, such as a password, mobile device or biometric feature. Some transactions, including certain low-value payments and transactions involving providers outside the European Economic Area, remain exempt.

Cross-Border Payments Remain A Weak Point

Most payments in Cyprus are domestic, but fraudulent transactions across credit transfers, cards and electronic money were more often linked to accounts outside the country.

Cross-border card fraud was particularly pronounced, with the number of fraudulent transactions about 15 times higher than the domestic total. Recovering funds can become more difficult once payments move across jurisdictions.

Consumer Awareness Remains Part Of The Response

The Central Bank also points to financial education as part of the response to payment fraud. Cyprus’ national digital financial education portal, MoneyPedia, provides information on common scams and ways to identify and avoid them.

The data show a shift in the fraud landscape: fewer cases are being recorded, but successful incidents can result in significantly larger losses.