According to UK Finance’s most recent ‘Fraud the Facts’ report, total fraud losses in the UK in 2021 reached a staggering £1.31bn.
Fraud has been a growing problem for years, but this was exacerbated by the pandemic in 2020 as scammers quickly developed their tactics to take advantage of everyone working remotely and socialising online. They also ruthlessly preyed on people’s fear and uncertainties surrounding Covid-19.
In addition to this, scammers are now also using the cost of living crisis to their advantage by exploiting rising costs.
Total fraud losses in the UK 2016 – 2022
2016 – £768.8 million
2018 – £844.8 million
2020 (start of pandemic) – £1.26 billion
2021 – £1.31 billion
What are the worst types of fraud in the UK?
In 2021, £524.5m was lost as a result of unauthorised debit and credit card fraud. This includes the following types of fraud:
Remote purchase fraud – 79%
Lost and stolen cards – 15%
Card ID theft – 5%
Counterfeit cards – less than 1%
Card not received – less than 1%
•Remote purchase/card not present fraud – £412.5m total losses
This is when a criminal uses stolen card details to purchase items over the internet, phone, or through mail order.
•Lost and stolen cards – £77.2m total losses
This is when a criminal uses a lost or stolen card to make purchases in store, online, or takes money out at an ATM or in a bank branch.
•Card ID theft – £26.3m total losses
This is when a criminal uses…
