Phishing in Belgium: €49 million stolen in 2024
Phishing remains the #1 threat for Belgian businesses. Official figures, common scenarios, and concrete reflexes to protect your SME.
Tuesday morning, 9:12 AM. The accountant at an SME receives an email from her "CEO". Subject: urgent transfer for a new supplier. The tone is pressing, the logo is perfect, the address nearly identical to the real one. She executes the transfer.
This type of scenario repeats itself every week in Belgium. According to Febelfin, fraudsters stole €49 million through phishing in 2024 — despite banks blocking or recovering 75% of fraudulent transactions.
€49M
stolen via phishing in Belgium in 2024 (Febelfin)
~10M
suspicious messages reported to Safeonweb in 2025
90%
of corporate attacks start with a phishing email (CCB)
The scale of the threat in Belgium
The official figures speak for themselves. In 2025, vigilant Belgians reported nearly 10 million suspicious messages to Safeonweb — over 27,000 per day. Thanks to these reports, the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) identified 176,000 malicious URLs and 40,000 fraudulent domains.
On the business side, the picture is equally alarming:
- At least one Belgian company falls victim to a cyberattack every day (CCB)
- 19% of Belgian business leaders say they have already been targeted by a cybercriminal (Mastercard/Opinium study, January 2025)
- 1 in 4 European SMEs fears having to close due to a cyberattack (Mastercard)
The Orange Belgium case — July 2025
In July 2025, Orange Belgium suffered a cyberattack attributed to the Warlock group. Result: 850,000 customer accounts compromised — names, phone numbers, SIM card data exposed. If a telecom operator can be hit, no business is safe.
How it works: the most common techniques
The problem isn't that hackers are brilliant. It's that they exploit the same human weaknesses every time: urgency, authority, and routine.
The variants are multiplying and becoming more professional:
- CEO fraud — A scammer impersonates a company director to request an urgent transfer. One in four SMEs was targeted in 2024-2025.
- Spear phishing — Highly targeted emails aimed at the accountant or finance department, with personalised information gathered from LinkedIn or the company website.
- Smishing & vishing — SMS on behalf of bpost or phone calls impersonating IT support, exploiting trust in familiar channels.
- Deepfake audio — AI now enables criminals to mimic a CEO's voice by phone, making fraud nearly undetectable.
The 4 reflexes that protect your business
The Safeonweb reflex
Forward any suspicious message to suspect@safeonweb.be. In 2025, thanks to citizen reports, the CCB ran 152 spear-phishing warning campaigns and issued 32,005 direct alerts to potentially affected organisations.
These reflexes aren't invented under pressure
They're practised. A targeted awareness session enables your teams to recognise the warning signs before it's too late. We deliver training as a lunch & learn, half-day or conference, with scenarios tailored to your industry.
Protect your business today
Assess your risk level in 2 minutes with our free cyber diagnostic. Immediate results and personalised recommendations.
Start the free diagnosticSources
- Febelfin — Figures 2024: "If it smells phishy, it probably is!" — €49 million stolen via phishing in Belgium in 2024
- CCB — Safeonweb receives nearly 10 million alerts in 2025 — Suspicious message stats, 176,000 URLs and 40,000 malicious domains
- CCB — Key figures 2025 — At least 1 Belgian company victimised per day, 90% of attacks start with phishing
- CCB — 44% of Belgians report phishing — Safeonweb survey December 2024
- Mastercard/Opinium — Cyber fraud and European SMEs (2025) — 19% of Belgian leaders targeted, 1 in 4 SMEs fear closure
