Scammers targeted €13.1 million from Lithuanian residents and businesses

Financial scammers attempted to defraud Lithuanian residents and businesses of more than €13.1 million in the second quarter, LRT reported, citing the Anti-Money Laundering Competence Centre.

Financial institutions blocked €7.6 million, but €5.4 million was still transferred to scammers. Actual losses amounted to nearly €5 million.

The centre recorded 3,718 fraud cases between April and June, 14% more than in the first quarter. However, 6,979 cases were recorded in the first half of the year, 10.2% fewer than during the same period last year.

“Although financial institutions manage to prevent a large share of fraud attempts, technological solutions alone are not enough,” centre director Eglė Lukošienė said. She called for consistent cooperation between the financial sector, state institutions, law enforcement and the public, as well as greater vigilance among residents.

Falsified text messages and emails accounted for the largest share of reported fraud in the second quarter, with 1,514 cases, or about 41% of the total.

Telephone fraud accounted for a smaller share of incidents but remained one of the most dangerous forms of fraud. Scammers are increasingly using complex social engineering schemes to persuade victims to approve payments themselves, disclose login details or transfer money to accounts presented as safe.

For businesses, email account takeovers and fake company executive scams continued to pose the greatest risks. Companies accounted for about 5% of reported fraud cases in the second quarter, but their losses exceeded €3 million, or about one-third of all losses.

The centre advised people who have even the slightest suspicion of fraud not to rush into making payments, to contact their bank or another institution independently, and to report suspected fraud to the relevant authorities.