In our latest country-specific report (which follows up on our recent Digital Banking Fraud Trends in EMEA report), BioCatch research shows retail banking customers in Germany see – or at least fall for – fewer of the purchase scams tormenting the rest of the continent (and the world) and encounter more impersonation and investment scams. Most often, these attacks come from native German-speakers residing in Eastern Europe (the English-speaking world primarily sees scams originating in Asia), making these scams appear more legitimate to German victims.
Our Digital Banking Fraud Trends in Germany report also shows Germans are less likely than others in the EU to receive reimbursements for funds lost to scams. German legislation requires banks only to reimburse victims of unauthorized fraud (phishing attacks). Even in those instances, phishing victims in the country must prove they didn’t act negligently before receiving restitution, further delaying the refund process when victims do qualify and leading to low refund-rates compared to the rest of Europe.
We highlight these and a host of other fraud trends plaguing financial institutions in Germany in 2024:
• Online Banking Often Tedious: Germany’s response to anti-money-laundering (AML) failings in recent years has led to a reduction in risk-tolerance among financial institutions in the country, adding friction and headaches to the digital banking experience.
• Lack of Crypto Understanding a Vulnerability: Only a third of Germans polled fully understood how crypto works, leaving more than 60% of the population susceptible to falling victim to a crypto scam.
• Room for Growth in Online Banking: Less than 40% of Germany uses advanced digital banking services to apply online for new accounts or cards (39%), aggregate their accounts (30%), or use digital wallets (27%).
To access our report, click here and fortify your defenses against fraudsters with BioCatch’s next-generation insights on the ever-evolving world of digital-banking fraud and financial crime in Germany.
