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Most people will likely recognize a similar text message from 2025, when Danes were repeatedly exposed to fraudulent messages, fake websites, and manipulative phone calls. For years, it seemed like the trend could not be reversed. But now Danske Bank is presenting its own figures and trends for fraud in 2025, offering a more nuanced and positive picture.

“2025 has in many ways been an extraordinary year for Danske Bank’s efforts to combat fraud against our customers. Even though the number of fraud attempts has increased and the attackers’ methods have become even more sophisticated, a number of preventive measures have truly proven their worth. We have never stopped more fraud than we did last year, preventing close to half a billion kroner from ending up in the pockets of fraudsters. This contributed to a roughly 7 percent decline in the number of customers who were defrauded in 2025,” says Niels Halse, Head of Fraud Prevention at Danske Bank.

In addition to concrete fraud cases that were stopped, Danske Bank also carried out several preventive initiatives, including replacing 18,756 payment cards and taking down 34,863 fake investment websites through partners.

A joint effort and even more transparency can reverse the trend
If Niels Halse had to point to one of the most important tools in the fight against fraud, it would be that we, as a society, openly discuss the challenges and the solutions. For many people, fraud is linked to a great sense of shame - and that silence gives fraudsters free rein. At the same time, fraud must be tackled as the societal problem it is - together. In an increasingly digital society, fraudsters can operate unnoticed if we don’t talk about the issues. Therefore, we must stand together and coordinate our efforts against them. According to Niels Halse, we cannot solve the problem individually.

“My great hope for 2026 is that we all start sharing our experiences and set aside the shame. Anyone can fall victim to fraud in a moment of inattentiveness. Even though I spend much of my time preventing fraud, I myself experience almost daily how advanced the methods have become. That is why we are now sharing last year’s trends and data. We believe that facts, transparency, and knowledge-sharing within fraud prevention are the key to stopping even more fraud attempts in the coming years,” concludes Niels Halse.