Online fraud has become more sophisticated, more targeted, and more damaging in recent years. Particularly the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the main victims of online fraud. Cybercriminals are using different techniques and tactics to exploit businesses, like fake invoices, phishing scams, or hidden malware threats.
At Security Tower, we provide cybersecurity services to help Dutch businesses. We offer services to detect and prevent these threats through malware analysis, vulnerability scanning, and cybersecurity training. In this blog, we are going to discuss the most common and dangerous online fraud tactics SMEs face today. And how you can defend your business from these threats.
What Is Online Fraud?
Online frauds are very common in this digital world. Online fraud is known as a scam or deceptive activity that happens over the internet. Using online fraud the attackers can steal money, data, or access. The main sources of online fraud are phishing emails, fake websites, or social engineering tricks.
Red flags of online fraud are:
- Looks real (logos, domains, email addresses, company name etc.)
- Feels urgent (fake threats or deadlines, urgently complete the task)
- Is highly targeted (based on company size, department, role, or sector)
Online frauds can also open a gateway toward deeper cyber-attacks, like data breaches, computer hacking, and malware attacks etc.
Top Online Fraud Tactics Targeting Dutch SMEs
During our security assessments, the most common fraud techniques we are seeing in the Netherlands are:
- Phishing Emails That Look Original
These emails show real companies, like banks, suppliers, or even government agencies. These emails trick employees to open malicious links or share login details.
Warning signs:
- Unexpected file attachments
- Urgent subject lines (Final Notice, Urgent Request, Your Payment, Security Breach etc.)
- Slightly changed sender email addresses
Phishing emails are the most common entry point to exploit vulnerabilities.
- Invoice & Payment Fraud
Hackers send fake invoices to vendors for financial purposes and these invoices look originally sent from real vendors. Another method they are using is the hijacking of ongoing email threads between suppliers and staff.
For example, an employee receives an email from “accounting@yourvendor.nl” asking to update payment details. The email looks perfect at first sight, but the bank account belongs to the hacker. The employee did not notice that wrong bank account and authorized the payment.
One wrong payment can cost thousands and once it is paid, then it is almost impossible to recover.
- CEO Fraud
This online fraud is very common these days. In this fraud, a staff member receives a message from someone pretending to be the CEO or manager. An urgent wire transfer or confidential file is required in this message.
Common signs:
- Sent from a personal or similar email addresses
- Requesting secrecy and asked not to share this email with any one
- Unusual behavior from a high-level person
CEO fraud is common in Dutch SMEs, and businesses are facing financial and data loss due to this fraud.
- Fake Job Applications and Attachments
Attackers send job application emails to the HR department. The infected files or attachments are also sent with these emails. When the HR department opens the file, malware threats are silently activated.
Indicators:
- Generic subject lines (eg Application for your job)
- Unusual file types in attachment (.exe, .js, .docm)
- No real job application details in the email body
This fraud is more sophisticated. That’s why, this tactic often leads to malware detection alerts too late.
- Fake Domain Websites
Cybercriminals create websites with domains that look similar to your business or trusted vendors, tricking customers or employees into entering credentials. By using these fake domains, the hackers can collect personal and professional credentials from the employees. Later this information can be used for hacking purposes.
For example, the domain www.securityinf0.nl instead of www.securityinfo.nl can be used by the hackers to collect user’s information. These fake websites are used for credential theft, phishing, and for malware attacks.
How Online Fraud Leads to Malware and Hacking
The common thinking about online fraud is tricking someone into making a payment. But from a cyber security perspective, online fraud is a first step towards cyber-attacks. The hackers can easily convert these online frauds into computer or network hacking. Because in online fraud the hackers can also collect personal, professional and financial credentials of the employees.
For example, an employee clicks a phishing link sent from a hacker or opens a fake invoice received in the email. These phishing email links and fake invoices are infected with malware. That’s why malware can be installed on target devices. In the next step, the attackers can explore the network by using malware vulnerabilities. Finally, data is stolen, encrypted, or your system is fully hacked. That’s why, online fraud is not just a financial issue, but it is also a big cyber security risk for businesses.
How Security Tower Protects Against Online Fraud
At Security Tower , we provide a complete set of cybersecurity services. Our services are directly targeting the online fraud risks to reduce the penetration of malware.
Here’s how we help Dutch businesses to protect their assets:
- Security Assessments and Vulnerability Scanning
We identify weak entry points in your system that hackers can exploit. For example, outdated software, open ports, and insecure email servers. We also test your network and train your employees to make it sure that everything is protected against the following hacking tactics.
- Email Phishing attacks
- Identify fake login pages
- Malware-infected attachments
- Phishing practice quiz & Employee Awareness Training
Your employees are the first line of defense. We create phishing practice quizzes to assess the phishing awareness of your employees. And then we provide customized training so your employees learn:
- How to identify fake emails
- What to do if something looks suspicious or risky
- How to report fraud attempts to concerning department
- Incident Response Planning
If your business has been a victim of online fraud, then a quick action can reduce the further damage. We help businesses to prepare incident response plans . Incident planning is a very important part of post attack activities.
Dutch SMEs Should Know
- The 82% of ransomware incidents starts with a phishing email
- Approximately 67% of SMEs in the Netherlands experienced some form of online fraud in the past 18 months
- And 54% of those affected had no employee training in place related to phishing and online fraud
(Source: NL Cybersecurity Report, Q1 2025)
Simple Tips to Protect Your Business Right Now
Quick action is required to protect your businesses. Following are the quick steps you can implement today:
- Implement and turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) where applicable
- Conduct training and educate your team on phishing and social engineering
- Guide the employees to avoid unexpected invoices or bank change requests
- Deploy strong passwords, use password manager, and change passwords regularly
- Schedule a security assessment with Security Tower
The tactics of online fraud are changing every day. That’s why employee training, continuous awareness, updated security assessments, and advanced malware detection are the main elements to keep your business safe and protected.
Contact Security Tower today to book a consultation or to schedule a fraud-readiness assessment.
