Scams, Fraud & Money Recovery
After a scam in Denmark: report to NC3 / local police, claim a refund under PSD2 + Lov om betalinger, and escalate free to Det finansielle ankenævn (Pengeinstitutankenævnet) if your bank refuses.
Covered in this guide:
Denmark's scam-recovery system runs across three institutions. NC3 (Nationalt Cyber Crime Center) at Rigspolitiet investigates cybercrime under the Danish Penal Code (Straffeloven) §§ 263–263a (data interference, hacking). For the money side, Danish banks must refund unauthorised transactions under Lov om betalinger (Payment Services Act) and EU PSD2 (Regulation 2015/2366) — generally by end of next business day. If the bank refuses, Det finansielle ankenævn (the Financial Complaints Board, formerly Pengeinstitutankenævnet) resolves complaints for a modest fee that is refunded if the complaint succeeds.
Emergency: 112. Non-emergency police: 114.
Key Laws
Straffeloven (Penal Code) §§ 263, 263a, 264d, 279, 279a
LBK No 1360 of 28 September 2022 (consolidated)
§263 — unlawful access to data / interception; §263a — unauthorised access to information systems; §264d — privacy violations (used for image-based abuse); §279 — fraud (bedrageri); §279a — data fraud (databedrageri). Penalties up to 6 years for serious offences; aggravated cases up to 8 years.
Lov om betalinger (Payment Services Act)
Lov nr 652 af 8 juni 2017 (PSD2 transposition)
Danish PSD2 transposition. Unauthorised electronic transactions: bank must refund by end of next business day unless reasonable grounds to suspect fraud by user. Customer liability cap of DKK 375 for lost/stolen instrument unless gross negligence (with extended cap up to DKK 8,000 for grossly negligent disclosure of PIN/credentials).
Finanstilsynet (Financial Supervisory Authority)
Statutory basis under Finanstilsynsloven
Danish FSA supervising banks, insurers, pension funds, investment firms. Does not handle individual consumer disputes (those go to Det finansielle ankenævn) but can take enforcement action against firms with systemic compliance failures.
First 24 Hours After Being Scammed
Three jobs in parallel. Call your bank's fraud line — under Lov om betalinger (Danish PSD2) the bank must refund unauthorised electronic transactions by end of next business day. Customer liability ca...
Reporting Cybercrime to NC3 / Danish Police
Denmark's cybercrime investigator is NC3 (Nationalt Cyber Crime Center) at Rigspolitiet. Reports are made through politi.dk (online) or by phone 114 (non-emergency) and 112 (emergency). Statutory fram...
Recovering Money from a Danish Bank via Det finansielle ankenævn
Denmark's money-recovery framework is two-step. Step 1: bank complaint. Under Lov om betalinger (Danish PSD2 transposition), the bank must refund unauthorised electronic transactions by end of next bu...