Financial fraud in 2026: experts warn of the growth of personalized fraud schemes

In 2026, financial fraud will become much more technological, more personalized, and more difficult to detect. This was stated by Anna Dovgalska, Deputy Chairman of the Board of GLOBUS BANK, noting that attackers are increasingly less likely to act randomly and more often to adapt their schemes to a specific person.

According to the expert, modern fraudulent scenarios are formed based on the user’s digital footprint – their online purchases, activity on social networks, use of banking services, ads on marketplaces, and even their circle of contacts.

The key trend is psychological influence: fraudsters force people to independently disclose confidential data, including one-time verification codes, passwords, and card details. The main tool is the manipulation of emotions, creating a sense of urgency, fear, or benefit.

“Most schemes are based on the manipulation of consciousness, when a person, due to stress or haste, transfers data or funds on his own,” Dovgalska noted.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, in 2025, the number of fraudulent transactions with payment cards decreased by 5% to 256 thousand, but the amount of losses increased by 24% and reached UAH 1.4 billion. This indicates that fraudulent schemes are becoming less widespread, but much more financially destructive.

The most common methods remain fake calls from the “bank security service”, phishing sites, fake messages about “payments” or “compensation”, as well as hacking accounts in messengers with subsequent requests for urgent transfers of funds.

A separate danger is the SIM-swap scheme — reissuance or interception of a mobile number, which allows access to the user’s banking and financial services.

Experts emphasize: banks never ask for PIN, CVV or one-time SMS codes. In case of any suspicious calls or messages, it is recommended to independently verify the information through the official channels of financial institutions.

Experts emphasize that the main element of protection remains the user’s behavior – attentiveness, critical thinking and checking any financial requests through official sources.

“Financial security today depends not only on bank technologies, but also on customer awareness,” the expert concluded.