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NFC payment fraud surge expands in US and Europe

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-07-27 20:28 UTC → 2026-08-04 13:13 UTC · added removed

NFC payment fraud surge expands in US and Spain Europe

In late July 2026, fintech firm 2026 Inter debuted launched its NFC‑enabled Ring and Wristband NFC wearables in the United States, offering screen‑less, battery‑free contactless payments linked to existing Inter credit cards. The launch coincided devices are water‑resistant, available in several colors, and were initially offered to a limited group of customers with a broader rollout planned later in the year. A Kaspersky report that covering the first four months of 2026 recorded a 188 % rise increase in NFC‑based cyberattacks on Android devices during the first four months of the year, noting two primary methods: devices, with roughly 35,600 incidents blocked, up from 12,300 a year earlier. The report identified direct NFC attacks that install malicious apps, apps and reverse NFC attacks reverse‑NFC scams that trick users into authorising fraudulent transfers. Two days later, transfers, citing malware families such as SuperCard X, PhantomCard and NFCGate as key drivers. U.S. regulators warned of “ghost tapping” fraud exploiting the same technology, while Spanish authorities in Spain issued an alert about on the “Wangiri” premium‑rate call scam, while U.S. regulators warned of “ghost tapping” fraud scam. In early August, Kaspersky noted that exploits NFC payment technology. Both warnings underscored the expanding use of technology‑driven deception, urging consumers to verify merchant details, block unfamiliar international numbers, rise in NFC scams was also affecting Europe, and report unauthorised charges. a separate issue emerged when Google Wallet’s NFC payment layer was disabled on Android phones imported from China after a Play Services update. The combined reports change impacted devices from Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi and OnePlus, leaving users uncertain whether the move was intentional or a software error. These developments illustrate a rapid escalation of NFC‑related fraud and technical disruptions across both regions, the United States and Europe, prompting heightened vigilance from both consumers consumers, merchants and officials. regulators.

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  1. 2026-08-04 13:13 UTC NFC payment fraud surge expands in US and Europe
  2. 2026-07-27 20:28 UTC NFC payment fraud surge in US and Spain

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