Money was stolen from me online, or I made a professional mistake: will I get it back, and is there insurance for it?

We found no rule making it compulsory for web designers. Many clients ask for it in the contract, and it usually covers claims for errors or omissions in your work, with a limit and an excess. Check your contracts and what a mistake could cost a client.

Yes. According to a Politis report (3 May 2026), a 2024 amendment made it compulsory for all doctors and healthcare providers, and proof is shown to the Cyprus Medical Association when applying for or renewing a licence. We did not confirm the law number or the minimum amounts.

Insurance intermediaries must hold professional indemnity cover under EU law. It protects the intermediary when found liable; it does not pay you automatically. First make a written complaint to the intermediary or their firm, then the Financial Ombudsman or the courts.

Many professional indemnity policies cover claims made while the policy is in force, not by when the mistake happened. There is often also a “retroactive date”: work before it is not covered. Check both in your terms.

With a “claims-made” policy, once it ends a new claim is usually not covered. That is why run-off cover exists, bought separately. Ask your insurer in writing before you stop.

If you did not authorise the payment, the EU rule (PSD2, Article 73) says the bank refunds immediately and at the latest by the end of the next business day, except for reasonable suspicion of fraud reported to the authority. If the bank says it was gross negligence, according to a secondary source it must prove it. Call straight away, then a written request and a police report.

Generally not under the unauthorised-payment rule: you authorised the payment, even though you were tricked (according to a secondary source on EU law). Still, call the bank straight away to try to stop or recall the transfer, and report it to the police. If you paid by card, ask about disputing the charge too.

We did not confirm whether cyber insurance for individuals is sold in Cyprus. Where it exists, it usually covers things such as identity theft or legal help, with limits and exclusions. Before any insurance, the refund rule for unauthorised payments already applies to you.

Straight away, as soon as you see it. According to a secondary source on the EU rule, without undue delay and at the latest within 13 months; we did not read the Cyprus law. The sooner you report, the easier it is to stop or refund.

Insurance for this rarely exists. Friends who sent money sent it themselves, so the unauthorised-payment rule generally does not apply; they should call their bank straight away. Recover the account, warn your contacts, and report it to the police and the platform.

Some home policies offer identity theft cover as an extension, usually for the costs of putting things right rather than all money lost. Many do not have it at all. Check your terms.

Many standard property policies exclude cyber attacks and data loss, and these are usually covered by separate cyber insurance. Check the “cyber” exclusions in your terms and tell your insurer and the police straight away.

According to a secondary source on the EU rule, you bear the whole loss only for fraud or gross negligence, and the burden of proof is on the bank. What counts as gross negligence is judged case by case. Ask in writing for the reason and the evidence, and if you disagree, complain; then the Financial Ombudsman.

We did not confirm it. It is confirmed as compulsory only for doctors (a 2024 amendment, according to a press report) and for insurance intermediaries (EU law). For other professions ask the professional body, or ask the professional to show you whether they are insured.

To the Cyprus Police, which has a unit for cybercrime, with screenshots, numbers and times. Tell your bank straight away too, and the platform where the scam happened. For a complaint against a bank, first the bank and then the Financial Ombudsman.

Many professional indemnity policies also cover defence costs, sometimes within the cover limit and sometimes on top. Often the insurer wants to approve the lawyer. Tell it in writing straight away and do not admit liability or offer a settlement without it.

If you entered no details, delete the message. If you did, call the bank straight away to block the card, check your transactions and change passwords. Report it to the police; for charges you did not authorise, the refund rule applies.

We cannot promise you an outcome. The bank may argue that giving out the code was gross negligence; according to a secondary source on the EU rule, the bank must prove that. Ask in writing for a refund of the payments you did not authorise, describe how you were deceived, and if it refuses, complain and then go to the Financial Ombudsman.

The EU rule (PSD2, Article 73) says immediately, and at the latest by the end of the next business day after it learns of it, unless it has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud and reports this in writing to the authority. We did not read the Cyprus law transposing it. Ask for written confirmation of the date you told them.

Yes. Under EU law, from 9 October 2024 insurance intermediaries must hold professional indemnity of at least €1,564,610 per claim and €2,315,610 per year. This insurance backs the intermediary if found liable; a complaint follows the usual route.

Do not pay through a link a stranger sent you. Check in the register of the Insurance Companies Control Service that the company or intermediary is registered, and go to their website by typing the address yourself. See also Is it a scam?.

It depends on whether the payment counts as authorised, for example if the card was saved on a device you gave the child. We found no Cyprus ruling on this. Ask the bank and the app store in writing for a refund, and set a password for every in-app purchase.