A conscious user approach is also essential against online fraud
More than two thirds of Internet users in Hungary have experienced phishing and other online threats, while a large proportion lack even basic online safety skills. This was among the highlights of recent studies conducted by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH). The two complementary studies used different methodologies to look at the online safety skills of Hungarian users and the reliability of certain online marketplaces. Experts stress that consumer awareness remains essential in addition to statutory means when it comes to combatting digital fraud.
Abuse in the digital space has also reached a critical level in Hungary: data from the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) show that the number of payment fraud cases increased by 36 percent in 2024 and the resulting damage reached nearly HUF 55 billion.
In response to this phenomenon, the NMHH conducted a representative public survey in 2024 to explore the platform use patterns and digital skills of Hungarian users, as well as their negative experiences in the online space. The study revealed that social media platforms are now an integral part of the everyday lives of Hungarian citizens, with nearly 90 per cent of internet users over 18 using Facebook on a weekly basis, over 70 per cent watching YouTube, while the popularity of TikTok and Instagram is around 40 per cent. At the same time, more than two thirds of respondents have faced some kind of online problem, such as phishing, illegal content or data abuse. The study also shows that high levels of online fraud in Hungary are linked to low levels of digital skills, with more than half of the population lacking basic online safety skills.
The NMHH’s 2025 non-representative study “Mystery Visit”, which focused on suspected fraud cases and ran simultaneously with the above research, explored the techniques of online fraudsters empirically through mystery shopping. Of the nearly 50 mystery shopping purchases covered by the study, 15 per cent were clearly fraudulent; however, the distribution of abuse cases was uneven across platforms and marketplaces, with 60 per cent of purchases made through Google Search Ads involving attempted fraud, compared to just 3 per cent in the more regulated online marketplaces. The study also identified key warning signs: for example, 83 per cent of fraudulent online shops lacked documentation of their General Terms and Conditions (GTC) and typically had better offers compared to market prices and rushed customers. A critical vulnerability was that 100 per cent of card payments took place in an environment without two-factor authentication (SCA) was not in place, allowing sensitive customer data to be obtained.
The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) allows users who fell victims on online platforms to lodge an internal complaint with the service provider concerned within 6 months; if the complaint is not resolved, the Online Platform Dispute Resolution Council (OPVT) offers an independent, out-of-court solution in Hungary.
If you encounter infringing content or online fraud, you can also report it to the corresponding platform or NMHH Internet Hotline legal assistance service.
The authority’s representative study on the digital skills of Hungarian citizens and the results of the “Mystery Visit” study based on mystery shopping are now available at the NMHH’s onlineplatformok.hu site, along with further practical advice and research results.