Greek online scams increasing

[Maik]

Online scams growing exponentially

Experts are sounding the alarm as online fraud in Greece quadrupled between 2018 and 2023. According to the Cybercrime Unit, 5,261 incidents were recorded last year, up from 1,093 in 2018. The recruitment of artificial intelligence is further worrying experts as now perpetrators can create more believable messages.

Tellingly, according to data compiled by the Bank of Greece and presented last November in the Hellenic Financial Stability Report, in the first half of 2023, the value of fraud incidents in distance transactions without the physical presence of a card reached €9 million in 174,000 cases.

Although Greece has made significant progress, it still ranks in 25th place among the 27 EU member-states in terms of the digital skills of the population, connectivity, integration of digital technology and digitization of public services.

“Often, especially in fraud messages sent in bulk, the perpetrators are not concerned that everything is perfect. They also act as a filter to select perhaps the most naive or those who have not been properly trained. Anyone who is more careful will see the obvious red flags and reject them,” said Vassilis Vlachos, an assistant professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Thessaly, who works on electronic security and cybercrime.

https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1230448/online-scams-growing-exponentially/