Stolen-Device Bank Fraud Spikes 150% in Spain as Criminals Exploit Mobile Channels, BioCatch Finds
Stolen-Device Bank Fraud Spikes 150% in Spain as Criminals Exploit Mobile Channels, BioCatch Finds #
A report from digital fraud intelligence company BioCatch finds that fraud cases conducted via stolen mobile devices in Spain surged 150% in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year ago, even as partner banks using the company’s behavioural biometric platform cut their overall fraud exposure significantly.
BioCatch’s “2025 Digital Banking Fraud Trends in Spain” report, published in late June, draws on proprietary data from Spanish financial institutions in the company’s network and documents how mobile channels have become the primary avenue for financial crime in the country. Banks deploying BioCatch’s behavioural analytics recorded a 23% decline in total fraud attempts in Q1 2025, with a particularly sharp 52% fall in third-party account takeover incidents. Yet the wider industry is faring far less well: a separate survey of banking leaders found that 73% of Spanish respondents reported fraud levels at their own organisations had risen over the same period, suggesting banks without advanced behavioural defences remain acutely vulnerable.
Android devices are bearing the brunt of the attack wave. According to BioCatch’s findings, they account for roughly three-quarters of Spain’s mobile banking sessions and have become the primary target for malware and device-compromise tactics. Once a handset is in criminal hands, fraudsters can exploit active banking sessions and bypass authentication controls that would otherwise block unauthorised access.
The report also flags a sharp rise in abuse of Bizum, Spain’s widely adopted peer-to-peer instant payment platform. Nearly three in ten fraudulent payments identified by BioCatch’s Spanish bank partners were processed through the app. Bizum requires only a phone number to send money, a design that reduces friction for legitimate customers but equally lowers barriers for fraudsters operating from compromised or stolen handsets.
BioCatch cautions that even institutions showing improvement in traditional fraud metrics should not lower their guard. The report identifies card fraud and mobile malware as growing threat categories that could erode the gains made through behavioural defences.
The report arrives as Spanish banks face mounting pressure from regulators and consumer advocates to strengthen protections against organised criminal networks. Stolen-device fraud techniques, first documented at scale in the UK and other European markets, are now being deployed systematically across Spain.
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