Scammers steal €5.14 billion from French online-banking customers in last year
According to a new report, French consumers lost €2.92 billion less (€5.14 billion total) to scammers in 2024 than they did a year ago (€8.06 billion). While that represents a more than 33% decline, it still means the French lost a sum equivalent to 0.2% of the nation’s GDP to scams in the last year alone.
The findings from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) and BioCatch – the global leader in digital fraud detection and financial crime prevention powered by behavioral intelligence – show a nation making progress in its fight against scams but still suffering greatly from an onslaught of attacks.
“Four percent of survey respondents say they are willing to be money mules and nearly 5% are undecided,” BioCatch France Solutions Manager Matthew Platten said. “At a financial institution with around 8 million accounts, that represents more than 700,000 accounts potentially willing to help launder stolen money in return for a payment – a worrying figure to say the least. This situation is often exacerbated by economic insecurity, which pushes vulnerable individuals to accept fraudulent offers. Fraudsters exploit these vulnerabilities to recruit mules to help them launder scammed funds, making it even more difficult to detect and prevent these illicit activities.”
While the report finds the average amount lost per person declined by nearly 25% in France over the last year (from €1,351 to €1,022), nearly 80% of respondents say they encountered a scam at least once a month – a 6% increase from the year before.
Other key report findings:
. Victims see no point in reporting: Nearly three quarters of scam victims failed to report their scam to law enforcement.
. AI awareness a potential concern: More than 80% of respondents say they know scammers can use artificial intelligence (AI) to craft scam messages, but fewer understand the risk of AI-generated voice clones or deepfake videos.
. Scammers in our incoming texts: GASA finds a 19% increase in text and SMS message scams in the last year.
“The frequency of scam encounters is rising,” GASA Managing Director Jorij Abraham said, “and the likelihood of French citizens being re-targeted by scammers is increasing at an alarming rate. This continuous threat, coupled with a stagnation in the public’s ability to recognize scams, means the French people urgently need broader access to education and awareness initiatives. Immediate action is essential to protect and empower the French people against scammers.”
Click here to access GASA’s complete The State of Scams in France 2024 report.
