Hungary is among the safest European countries for online bank card payment
Notwithstanding last year’s 70,000 fraudulent bank card transactions costing 1.3 billion forints (EUR 3.6m), Hungary is among Europe’s safest countries for online bank card payments both in terms of the volume and value of transactions, according to finance ministry state secretary András Tállai.
“Fraud was suspected in 73 cases out of one million bank card payment transactions last year,” Tállai said in a statement on Sunday.
He said that the number of online payments connected with fraud has exploded around the world in recent years, with the chief aim of obtaining personal financial data. The method commonly used involves phone calls or e-mail messages by fraudsters posing as bank staff.
- Hungarian electronic tax invoice system “singular in EU”?
- Would you like to buy an apartment in the Hungarian capital? It is now or never!
Tállai noted that phishing for personal data under the guise of tax and customs office NAV interventions was widespread in 2019.
More recently, however, the preferred method is to send fraudulent SMS messages related to postal packages containing malicious links.
The Hungarian Banking Association has set up a working group with experts of the national cybercrime institute, police force and the national office of investigations, as well as the banking sector, which has played a significant role in exposing the fraud cases, Tállai said.
