Danske Bank says the number of customers visited at home by fake bank couriers has nearly doubled in a year, with 48 cases registered in October 2026 against 26 in October 2025.
The warning came in a press release from Danske Bank, reported by DR on November 11, 2026. The bank says professional fraudsters are deliberately targeting elderly customers in Denmark.
According to the bank’s own count, 13 further cases of the same type had already been opened in the first days of November 2026. The customers involved in the current cases are between 78 and 94 years old. The same Ritzau-based report was also carried by Kristeligt Dagblad.
The financial losses are rising faster than the case numbers. Danske Bank customers lodged objections totaling 1.3 million kroner over this type of fraud in October 2026. In the same month of 2025, the figure was 325,000 kroner.
How the fake courier scam works
The method is usually the same, according to the bank. The victim, often an elderly person, receives a phone call claiming there has been suspicious activity on their account. The caller says a bank courier will arrive shortly to collect the payment card, the PIN code or similar.
Niels Halse, who is responsible for the fraud area at Danske Bank, describes the increase as worrying. Per his account in the release, the fraudsters are skilled at creating fear and time pressure. He also notes that the cases have spread geographically, after previously being concentrated on Sjælland.
His main message is that neither a bank nor the police ever sends staff to a private home to collect a card, a PIN code or cash. If someone at the door claims otherwise, Halse says the door should be closed. The bank or the police should then be called on an official number that the resident dials themselves.
Police figures on contact fraud
The scam sits inside a wider category that Danish police call kontaktbedrageri, or contact fraud. Figures from the National Unit for Special Crime, NSK, cited by DR, show around 19,000 such cases were reported in Denmark between 2020 and September 2025.
The trend is not new for the bank itself. Danske Bank had already published a warning about fake bank couriers in 2025, when it reported an increase in the same type of fraud. No independent count of the 2026 cases was published alongside the bank’s figures.
What the warning means for internationals and their relatives in Denmark
Internationals who are new to the Danish banking system may not know what a bank in Denmark will and will not do. Danske Bank’s statement is explicit on one point: staff never come to your home for your dankort, your PIN or cash. The same applies to the police, according to Halse.
Verification also works differently from what the scam suggests. Danske Bank’s advice is to end the contact and call back on an official number you type in yourself, rather than a number given by the caller. The main customer service numbers for a bank in Denmark are printed on the back of the payment card and on the bank’s own website.
The age range reported by the bank, 78 to 94, is relevant for anyone in Denmark with elderly parents or grandparents here, including families who moved later in life. The cases are no longer limited to Sjælland, according to Halse, so the risk is not tied to one region. Internationals comparing providers can also check the standard contact routes when they choose a bank in Denmark.
Danske Bank has not said how many of the disputed 1.3 million kroner from October 2026 will be refunded to customers. That assessment is handled case by case through the bank’s objection process. The bank’s release does not give a figure for the share of claims covered.
