€580 million in losses: Bundesbank launches campaign against payment fraud

What the Bundesbank announced on 8 October

On 8 October 2026, Deutsche Bundesbank and the Federal Ministry of Finance became patrons of the awareness campaign “Machen wir Phishen Impossible!”. The trigger is Bundesbank data: around 1.8 million fraudulent payment transactions caused losses of more than €580 million in 2025, which works out at just over €320 per case. The campaign was agreed by the “Roundtable Betrugsbekämpfung” (anti-fraud roundtable), which the Bundesbank set up in November 2025. From 10 October, companies from finance, telecoms and retail as well as public bodies will spend about a month informing people via social media and phishen-impossible.de, including videos about fake bank employees on the phone. The model is a campaign of the same name in Austria. How merchants protect themselves technically in online business is covered in our guide to 3-D Secure and strong customer authentication.

Which merchants and staff these scams hit

The campaign is aimed at people of all ages, in other words customers. But businesses are affected too: owners and bookkeepers who approve invoices and transfers, till staff who can trigger refunds on the terminal, and online retailers who receive orders placed with phished card or account details. In e-commerce, the loss from such orders often ends up with the merchant, as the bevh and CRIF survey showed in September.

Why technology alone does not stop fraud

€580 million is not a marginal problem, and the figure shows where technology reaches its limits. Since 9 October 2025, Verification of Payee has applied to credit transfers in the euro area, and online card payments run with strong customer authentication. Neither helps much when customers approve a payment themselves because someone on the phone is pressuring them. Phishing does not attack the systems; it attacks the trust of the people who use them.

For merchants this means the most important safeguard costs nothing but time. Teams that are regularly prepared for fake calls from supposed banks, payment providers or technicians close the gap that no terminal can close. It is right that retail itself is a partner in the campaign. It stands between customer and payment every day.

What merchants should do now

1. Introduce a fixed rule: no change of bank details, refund or approval on request by phone, email or messenger, only after calling back on a known number.
2. Show the campaign videos in team meetings from 10 October, especially to till and accounts staff.
3. Clarify with your payment provider how refunds on the terminal are secured, for example with a merchant PIN, and who can be reached if fraud is suspected.