- Fraud victims are more than twice as likely to have suffered vehicle theft
- Most people have seen an increase in fraud attempts over the past year.
Fraud accounts for 40 per cent of all reported crimes, new data reveals, as Britons report seeing a rise in scam activity.
According to figures from the National Crime Agency, almost £1.2bn was lost to fraud last year, and 3.5 million fraud offences were committed in the year to March 2023.
More than six per cent of people in England and Wales were victims of fraud during the period, more than double the three per cent who experienced vehicle theft and three times as many who were victims of criminal damage or bicycle theft.
Prevalence: Fraud is by far the most common form of crime, accounting for six percent of victims.
Meanwhile, more than half of people – 55 percent – have seen an increase in scam attempts over the past year, research from fraud prevention firm Featurespace shows.
Nearly half (46 percent) reported that there is even more fraudulent activity during festive periods, such as Christmas.
It is worrying that three out of ten people have been victims of financial fraud, the data reveal.
Martina King, chief executive of Featurespace, said: “The UK is in the midst of a fraud epidemic and millions of people across the country are having to think twice and be more cautious in their daily lives to try and avoid scams.”
The biggest contributor to this was authorized payment fraud, where victims make payments to scammers posing as legitimate businesses.
In 2023, £459.7m was lost due to these scams and the number of PPP cases increased by 12 per cent.
Other common types of fraud include payment diversion fraud, investment fraud, romance fraud, and messaging fraud.
Before winning the election, Labour pledged to set out a new anti-fraud strategy, including plans to make victims responsible for repaying money to tech companies rather than banks.
“UK banks rightly believe it is unfair and unsustainable that they should be expected to shoulder much of the burden of trying to tackle PPP fraud and repay victims, while the big tech companies on whose platforms this fraud occurs contribute very little to either effort,” the Labour Party said.
Still, two-thirds of fraud victims said they were happy with the support their bank provided, while 57 percent were happy to have information on how to avoid financial fraud provided by their bank, the Featurespace survey found.
The King said: ‘While these criminals have a wide range of tools at their disposal and access to our identities in many cases, the good news is that the industry has a wealth of behavioural data within our banks that can be used to spot signs of fraud before it happens.
‘Banks across the UK have been harnessing this data and using AI and machine learning technology for good for over a decade.’
How can you avoid being scammed?
With the increasing prevalence of fraud-based crimes, it is advisable to take precautions to avoid falling victim to scammers.
Up to 80 percent said they are now more wary of potential scams on social media and half of people avoid accepting friend requests from people they don’t know.
Likewise, you should take unsolicited emails or phone calls with caution, especially if their offers seem too good to be true.
Even if you think something is legitimate, take the time to verify website addresses, emails, and call the company back using an official number to make sure you’re talking to who you think you are.
The National Crime Agency also recommends making sure you have a strong password for your email account, which should be different from all your other passwords.
Whenever possible, it is best to use two-factor authentication to access your accounts, especially your email.
Fraud cases can be reported to the authorities in a number of ways, including forwarding suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, reporting suspicious text messages and calls to 7726 free of charge and contacting Action Fraud.