Reports of online fraud went up almost 50% in the first 6 months of the year, with the average fraud victim losing up to €20,000.
The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) received 1,332 reports of fraudulent activity in the first six months of the year – a 44% increase compared to the 925 reports made in the same period in 2023.
Reports of fraudulent activity in Belgium have been rising for several years. In 2023, the FSMA received a record 2,170 reports of online investment fraud, almost three times more than in 2017 (781 reports). The FSMA added that this year is "well on its way" to breaking another record for fraudulent activity.
Who gets targeted most
The FSMA said that the rising level of recovery fraud is particularly "striking", having increased by 60% in the first six months of this year. Recovery fraud is when scammers pretend to help victims of previous fraud practices to recover their lost money.
Meanwhile, almost half of all reports of illegal activities received by the FSMA concerned fraudulent trading platforms and cryptocurrencies, as the authority warned Belgian investors to "remain vigilant". More than a third of reports concerned people in their fifties or sixties.
"They often have more financial room to invest once their house has been paid off and the children have left home, but they are not always well informed about the do's and don'ts in the digital world," the FSMA said.
The authority said that the rising number of reports is partly due to rising awareness among consumers. The FSMA launched a large scale awareness campaign in October 2023 to warn online investors about fraudsters, which it said "paid off" with more reports from victims as well as preventative queries about the reliability of offers that people came across online.
However, FSMA chairman Jean-Paul Servais said that victims can still be too ashamed to report fraudulent activity.
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"Every year, more and more consumers contact the FSMA about irregular activities and when they have doubts about an offer. That is a positive development, but we notice that even more Belgians need to be convinced to report when they fall victim to fraud criminals. We are convinced that many victims still fail to do so – sometimes out of shame," Servais said.
"It is important that we can collect as much data as possible, in order to step up the fight against online investment fraudsters, and therefore to take even more targeted actions. Through Wikifin, the FSMA's financial education programme, we will also continue to raise awareness about investment fraud and provide reliable information and tips about money matters," he added.
Anyone who wishes to report fraud or who has doubts about an offer can contact the FSMA via a new reporting form.
