Amount of losses from financial fraud in 2023 grows by 73% – NBU
Payment service providers, merchants and clients suffered UAH 833 million in losses from illegal actions with payment cards over the past year, which is 73% higher than the figure for 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on Tuesday.
The number of cases of financial fraud in 2023 grew by a quarter, to 272,000 transactions.
The average amount of one illegal transaction rose to UAH 3,065 last year, from UAH 2,200 in 2022, according to NBU data.
At the same time, the number of active cards in 2023 grew by 13%, which, according to the regulator, indicates a more active use of payment cards for transactions.
According to the National Bank, the share of losses of postal operators and nonbank financial institutions that have the right to issue or acquire electronic payment instruments was 0.4% of the total losses for 2023 and 0.2% by the number of cases.
Most cases of fraud with payment cards last year occurred on the Internet – 83% of the total, while 17% - through physical devices, including retail chains, ATMs, and self-service devices.
The average amount of one illegal transaction on the Internet grew by 31% and reached UAH 3,150 in 2023, compared to UAH 2,408 in the previous year.
The vast majority of fraud cases are caused by the disclosure of personal data by clients. According to the regulator, 80% of all losses in 2023 were due to social engineering, while in 2022 this figure was 53%.