Danish victims of banking fraud lost more than DKK 40,000 per case (€5,358), on average, in the first half of 2025, up from DKK 27,000 (€3,616) in the second half of 2024, new data from Finans Danmark has shown.
According to Finans Danmark, the increase in fraud levels indicates that criminals are ‘increasingly successful’ at persuading victims to raise their limits in their bank accounts, as well as encouraging them to transfer smaller amounts to different accounts.
Fraud attempts
Overall, the total amount stolen increased by around a third, with fraudsters attempting to steal a total of DKK 78.5 million and getting away with close to DKK 45.9 million.
Around half of fraud attempts were stopped, either by the banks or the customers themselves, but the losses per case are still at their largest average since 2022.
While the average monetary value of each fraud case has increased, the total number of fraud cases actually declined – in total, some 2,213 fraud cases were recorded between January and June 2025, compared with 3,361 in the previous half-year period.
‘Increasingly successful’
“This is bad news, as it shows that criminals are unfortunately increasingly successful with a new strategy that involves persuading victims to remove the maximum limit for instant transfers and to transfer several smaller amounts to different accounts in different banks,” commented Michael Busk-Jepsen, deputy director of Finans Danmark.
The most common type of online banking fraud in Denmark is ‘vishing’, in which offenders impersonate bank employees, police officers, or other authorities to gain access to customer accounts.
“The best advice I can give is to always double-check dubious calls or messages by contacting the bank or the police yourself through the official phone numbers,” Busk-Jepsen added. “That way you can find out whether it is actually a real message or not. And if the message is from a friend or family member, call to check that it is the right person behind the number.”
Finans Danmark represents banks, mortgage institutions, investment firms, asset managers, and other financial entities in Denmark. Read more here.
