Ministers Gilles Roth and Elisabeth Margue shared the figures in response to a parliamentary question posed by the Green Party.

In 2024, the public prosecutor’s office has treated 13 cases of 'fake president scam' (also known as bank transfer scams), which primarily target companies, with the goal of deceiving employees into making unauthorized money transfers. Typically, an impostor will contact an employee by phone or email, pretending to be the CEO or a trusted business partner.

Last year, the total amounted to 12 cases, yet in the four preceding years the court barely had to deal with them at all.

Minister of Justice Elisabeth Margue and the Minister of Finance Gilles Roth explained the situation by invoking the development of criminal behaviour augmented by the internet and open-source software, which facilitate data theft from businesses and their employees, and cyber crime also benefits from improved technological means.

However, there have been similar scams in the past: in 2014, 30 such cases were reported. The number had since decreased due to awareness campaigns and training. More information about these as well as the role of banks’ responsibilities when handling these scams could not be provided by the ministers.