Fraud losses plateau at £1.17 billion as UK Finance urges stronger cross-sector response - Trade Treasury Payments

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Fraud losses plateau at £1.17 billion as UK Finance urges stronger cross-sector response

Unauthorised fraud surges as criminals adapt tactics, but financial sector prevents over £1.45 billion in attempted theft.

Fraud losses in the UK remained stubbornly high in 2024, with criminals stealing £1.17 billion through both unauthorised and authorised push payment (APP) fraud, according to the latest Annual Fraud Report published by UK Finance.

The figure is broadly unchanged from 2023. However, the underlying data paints a more complex picture. Unauthorised fraud cases climbed to 3.13 million (up 14% year-on-year), driven largely by a resurgence in remote purchase fraud. This subcategory, which involves the use of stolen card details to make online transactions, accounted for nearly 2.6 million cases and losses approaching £400 million.

Despite this rise, financial institutions prevented an estimated £1.45 billion of unauthorised fraud, an increase of 16% from the previous year. That equates to blocking roughly 67p of every £1 targeted by fraudsters.

Ben Donaldson, Managing Director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, said, “Fraud continues to blight this country, with over £1 billion stolen by criminals in 2024. This causes severe harm to individuals, society and our economy as the stolen money goes to serious organised crime groups, both here and abroad.

Shifting tactics and channels

APP fraud losses for 2024 dipped slightly to £450.7 million, a 2% decrease from 2023. Case volumes fell more sharply, down 20% to just under 186,000, the lowest level recorded since 2020. This drop is largely attributed to growing investment in fraud detection technology and more targeted consumer awareness efforts.

But the methods are evolving. Investment scams saw a 34% spike in total losses to £144.4 million, despite a decline in case numbers. Purchase scams remained the most prevalent form of APP fraud, accounting for more than 87,000 cases and £87 million in losses.

Criminals are also increasingly funnelling money out of the UK. International payments linked to APP fraud doubled to 11% of total losses, up from 6% in the previous year, suggesting a deliberate shift towards harder-to-trace transactions.

Social engineering remains a common denominator. Fraudsters continue to exploit victims psychologically, often convincing them to disclose one-time passcodes or authorise payments under false pretences. The overlap in tactics across fraud types has made traditional detection methods less effective in isolation.

Reimbursement and regulation

The reimbursement landscape changed markedly in late 2024 with the introduction of new rules by the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). In the first three months following implementation, 86% of in-scope APP fraud losses were reimbursed. Across the full year, £267.1 million was returned to victims, approximately 59% of the total amount stolen via APP fraud.

While this shift offers improved consumer protection, UK Finance warns that it does little to deter criminals or address upstream vulnerabilities since reimbursement supports victims but does not solve the root of the problem. Fraud remains the most common crime in the UK. Its economic cost is matched by social and psychological harm, with victims often suffering long-term financial and mental health consequences.

Yet financial institutions remain the last line of defence, not the first. Nearly 70% of APP fraud cases originated online, while 16% began through telecommunications networks. The report calls for a more joined-up approach across sectors to identify and neutralise threats before money moves.

In 2024, the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a joint initiative between UK Finance, the City of London Police, and the Metropolitan Police, disrupted 90 organised crime groups and secured 75 convictions. The unit prevented an estimated £64.9 million in fraud, up from £33 million the year prior.