Banking fraud rises in Hungary as transfer scams surge

Banking fraud in Hungary is seeing a significant rise in both frequency and financial impact. According to data from the Magyar Nemzeti Bank for the second quarter of 2026, successful card fraud cases reached approximately 52,000, an 8 percent increase from the previous quarter, resulting in 1.74 billion forints in losses.

Transfer-related fraud saw an even sharper increase, with 3,839 successful cases causing 5.37 billion forints in damages, a 28 percent rise. Notably, corporate account fraud has surged, with both the number of incidents and the total value more than doubling in a single quarter to nearly 2.9 billion forints.

Cybersecurity experts from Erste and BiztosDöntés identify several common tactics. Scammers frequently impersonate official figures, such as bank employees, police officers, or central bank staff, to manipulate victims into transferring money to ‘security accounts’ or downloading malicious software. Other prevalent methods include investment scams via social media, online marketplace fraud, SMS phishing, and new techniques exploiting NFC technology.