Financial fraudsters scam 6.8 million euros in five months; association warns ahead of holiday season

The Financial Industry Association (FIA) has released data showing that in the first five months of 2026, fraudsters swindled 6.809 million euros from clients of its member banks through authorized push payment fraud. A total of 2,368 fraud cases were recorded.

The largest losses came from phone scams – 1,119 cases resulting in 3.549 million euros lost. Investment fraud accounted for 998 cases with losses of 1.921 million euros, while other types of fraud involved 251 cases and 1.340 million euros.

During the same period, financial institutions prevented 9,240 fraud attempts worth 9.193 million euros. These included 1,992 phone scam attempts (3.885 million euros), 5,196 investment fraud attempts (3.892 million), and 2,052 other attempts (1.416 million).

In May alone, 487 fraud cases succeeded, costing victims 1.091 million euros, while 1,830 attempts worth 2.093 million were thwarted. Phone scams caused the biggest losses in May: 271 cases with losses of 779,997 euros. Investment fraud saw 173 cases (265,819 euros).

As the summer holiday season approaches, the FIA urges the public to be extra vigilant. Cybersecurity institution Cert.lv has noted an increase in fraudulent messages purporting to be from "booking.com," directing recipients to fake websites to enter payment card details. The association advises against authorizing payments or authentication requests under pressure or urgency, and to critically evaluate unexpected calls, emails, and text messages. If in doubt, individuals should stop communication and contact their bank immediately.

FIA members include major Latvian banks such as Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, and Luminor. For comparison, in 2025, fraudsters stole 12.22 million euros from clients of the four largest banks across 6,667 cases, while 18,464 attempts worth 14.031 million were prevented – a 21.3% decrease in stolen amounts compared to 2024.