Banking scams are changing rapidly, and increasingly, the fraud begins on the device sitting in our hands.
According to BioCatch’s 2026 Global Scams Report, attempted banking scams rose 35% across more than 370 financial institutions covering over 760 million customers in 21 countries. While this was lower than the 65% rise recorded in the previous report, scams continued to increase.
The biggest shift is mobile. Around 90% of scam sessions took place on mobile devices, up from 85% a year earlier. By comparison, 75% of conventional unauthorised fraud sessions came from mobile devices.
But what makes these scams particularly difficult to stop is that criminals often do not need to hack into an account.
Instead, they manipulate the victim into making the transaction themselves.
A fraudster may pose as a bank official, investment adviser, employer or romantic partner and pressure the victim into transferring money. The customer may use their genuine phone, enter the correct credentials and successfully pass authentication — yet the payment is still fraudulent.
The report found that purchase scams accounted for 33% of attempts, while employment-scam victims jumped 258%. Romance-scam attempts rose 23%.
Investment scams carried the highest average attempted value at $6,600, around five times the average across scam categories.
This is why banks are increasingly looking beyond passwords and authentication. They are examining behaviour during a session — including unusual navigation, remote-access software, active calls and changes in how payments or beneficiaries are set up.
The key question is no longer simply, “Is this the real customer?” It is also, “Is someone manipulating the real customer?”
BioCatch’s figures represent its monitored banking network and do not measure all fraud globally. However, they highlight how modern scams are becoming increasingly mobile, personalised and behaviour-driven.
