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The Swedish financial watchdog has announced that payments fraud is declining overall, but says the use of tactics such as social engineering is increasing, echoing other countries in Europe and elsewhere.
Fraud involving payment services in Sweden declined in the second half of 2024, although it remains at historically high levels, according to new figures from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, known locally as the Finansinspektionen.
Data released by the regulator reveals that during the period from July to December 2024, fraud losses totalled SEK806m ($83m), down from SEK899m ($92m) in the first half of the year.
The number of reported fraud cases also declined slightly, from 143,251 to 138,660.
However, these numbers remain significantly higher than in H1 2021, when the fraudulent amount totalled SEK424m ($44m) — this equates to an increase of almost 90 percent.
Similarly, the number of frauds since then has jumped by 66 percent, considering the amount in that period was 83,549.
The rising tide of manipulation
Despite the overall decline during 2024, the regulator has warned that scams involving the manipulation of consumers are becoming more common.
The total amount raised from this method amounted to SEK554m ($57m) for the second half of 2024, up from SEK511m ($53m) in the first half of the year.
According to the regulator, these scams typically involve fraudsters tricking victims into authorising fraudulent payments rather than exploiting technical vulnerabilities or stolen credentials, and the trend echoes the issues that countries such as the UK have faced.
“The total fraud via payment services is decreasing, but the amounts that fraudsters manage to deceive consumers are still very large,” commented Mithra Sundberg, head of payment supervision.
Sundberg added that “it is worrying that manipulations are increasing”.
“Companies therefore need to continue to prioritise the work of strengthening the protection of consumers in their services.”
