The latest figures from the European Central Bank show payment fraud in the European economic area climbed to €4.2 billion in 2024, up sharply from previous years and fraudsters clearly aren’t slowing down.
While regulators note that strong customer authentication (SCA) continues to deliver meaningful protection, today’s criminals are evolving faster than traditional controls. Social engineering, authorised push payment fraud and increasingly sophisticated ways to bypass standard checks are now driving a growing share of losses.
This isn’t just a headline statistic. It’s a direct hit on business revenue.
Why the fraud total matters for your revenue
Across Europe, a significant share of payment fraud comes from remote card and credit transfer fraud, where attackers manipulate customers into authorising transactions they never intended to make.
This creates a double impact:
- Direct losses, through stolen funds and chargebacks
- Indirect costs, including operational disruption, customer churn, higher dispute rates and increased compliance pressure
Strong customer authentication helps reduce unauthorised transactions but it doesn’t stop authorised fraud, where the customer approves the payment under deception. That’s where many businesses find compliance alone isn’t enough.
The growing fraud landscape demands smarter risk controls
Fraud in 2025 is no longer about basic card theft or weak passwords. Today’s attackers rely on:
- Social engineering and impersonation
- Bot-driven attacks that adapt in real time
- Account takeover techniques that mimic normal user behaviour
These methods often slip past legacy rule engines and static checks. Operations teams are left firefighting rather than preventing losses before they occur.
So the question becomes: are your fraud controls built for today’s threat model?
Introducing Protectmaxx
Protectmaxx is Alphacomm’s next-generation anti-fraud solution, built for the realities of modern ecommerce — especially high-risk digital goods like travel eSIMs, top-ups, gift cards, game cards and e-money.
Here’s how Protectmaxx helps protect revenue and improve approvals:
- Self-adapting, high-precision fraud engine
Combining supervised machine learning, dynamic rule sets and continuous expert oversight to detect fraud without blocking real customers. - Market-leading acceptance rates
By focusing on behavioural risk rather than blunt rules, Protectmaxx maximises approvals while keeping fraud under control. - 100% chargeback guarantee
For qualifying payment methods, Alphacomm stands behind every decision, removing fraud-related chargeback risk from your balance sheet. - Seamless checkout integration
Millisecond-level API responses ensure protection without adding friction to the customer journey. - Real-time analytics and insights
Clear visibility into fraud trends, transaction risk and performance enables faster, smarter decision-making. - Support for alternative payment methods
Including local european payment types such as iDEAL, Sofort, Giropay and Bancontact.
Rather than focusing purely on regulatory thresholds, Protectmaxx focuses on economic impact, protecting revenue while preserving customer experience.
What Europe’s fraud increase teaches us
The rise to €4.2bn in annual fraud losses signals a structural shift in how attackers operate and where businesses are most exposed. As fraud increasingly relies on manipulation and authorised payments, authentication alone is no longer sufficient. The gap between compliance and real-world protection continues to widen and that gap is where revenue leaks out. Protectmaxx is built to close it.
Thinking ahead
As payment flows become faster and fraud tactics more sophisticated, relying on authentication alone will continue to leave gaps. Businesses need protection that can adapt in real time, understand behaviour in context and stop fraud before it turns into lost revenue.
That’s where Protectmaxx comes in. By analysing transactions as they happen and identifying high-risk behaviour without disrupting genuine customers, it helps merchants stay ahead of evolving fraud while reducing chargebacks and protecting long-term revenue.
To learn how Protectmaxx can help you prepare for what’s next in payment fraud, speak with our Revenue Geeks. We’re here to make digital goods safer, smarter and more profitable.
