Old-fashioned credit card scams remain effective despite the rise of sophisticated digital and AI-assisted fraud. Criminals are mailing fake replacement cards and letters claiming that existing cards are expiring, then directing recipients through QR codes or links to counterfeit banking websites designed to steal account details. The scams have affected countries including Portugal, France and Germany, and personalised fake cards may be becoming cheaper and more convincing to produce.

Traditional card skimming also continues, particularly against magnetic-stripe-only Electronic Benefit Transfer cards used for US food assistance. Two Romanian nationals were recently indicted in Alabama over alleged skimming activity, while US authorities say skimming causes more than $1 billion in annual losses. Security experts warn that cloned magnetic-stripe cards can access both current and future benefits, and that chip-enabled cards can still be exposed when terminals force transactions to use the less secure magnetic stripe.