UK Scam & Fraud Statistics
Reported fraud losses and case volumes in the United Kingdom, drawn from UK Finance and Action Fraud annual reports.
Last reviewed: 7 July 2026
In the United Kingdom, two main bodies publish official fraud data: UK Finance (the banking and finance industry body) and Action Fraud (the national fraud reporting centre). Their figures measure different things — UK Finance tracks losses flowing through financial institutions, while Action Fraud records police-referred reports from the public.
Fraud is substantially under-reported in the UK; the Office for National Statistics estimates that far more incidents occur than are captured in either dataset. All figures below are from named reports and should be read alongside their original methodology notes.
Key figures
£1.28 billion in 2025 across 4,062,198 confirmed cases — an increase of four per cent
Total fraud losses reported through UK financial institutions
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£576.4m in 2025, up 19% on 2024, across 248,070 confirmed cases
Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud losses
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£703.4 million in 2025, a decrease of 5% from 2024
Unauthorised fraud losses through UK banks
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£221.5m in 2025 — up 40% on 2024 and the highest loss total ever reported
APP investment fraud losses
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£118.1m in 2025 — up 20% on 2024, with purchase scams accounting for 71% of all APP scam cases
APP purchase scam losses (the most common APP fraud type)
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£54.0m in 2025 — down 12% on 2024
Card ID theft losses
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£423.5m in 2025 — a three per cent increase on 2024, across 3,196,962 cases
Remote purchase fraud losses
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
3.81 million confirmed cases of unauthorised fraud reported in 2025 — an 11% increase on 2024
Confirmed unauthorised fraud cases
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£1.68 billion of unauthorised fraud prevented in 2025 — equivalent to 70p in every £1 of attempted fraud
Fraud prevented by the UK banking and payments industry
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
£39.2m in 2025 — up 23% on 2024, across 6,335 cases
APP romance scam losses (UK)
Source: UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026 (covering 2025 data) (2025)
318,848 reports in 2024, with reported losses of approximately £2.3 billion
Fraud reports received by Action Fraud
Source: Action Fraud (via RSM UK Freedom of Information request, 2024 data) (2024)
Key takeaways
- UK Finance reported £1.28 billion stolen through UK financial institutions in 2025, up four per cent, across more than 4 million confirmed cases.
- Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud — where victims are tricked into sending money to criminals — rose 19% to £576.4 million in 2025, across 248,070 confirmed cases.
- APP investment fraud reached £221.5 million in 2025, up 40% on the previous year and the highest loss total ever reported.
- UK banks and the payments industry prevented £1.68 billion of unauthorised fraud in 2025, equivalent to about 70p of every £1 targeted.
- Fraud figures from different UK sources are not directly comparable; each has a different scope and methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What is APP fraud?
Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud occurs when a criminal tricks a victim into voluntarily transferring money to a fraudster-controlled account, often by impersonating a bank, HMRC, or a legitimate supplier. Because the victim authorises the payment themselves, it is harder to recover.
Why do UK Finance and Action Fraud figures differ?
UK Finance measures losses reported by member banks and financial institutions. Action Fraud collects reports directly from the public and passes them to police. They capture different events and may overlap, so the figures should not be added together.
How much UK fraud goes unreported?
A significant proportion. The Office for National Statistics Crime Survey for England and Wales consistently estimates fraud volumes far higher than official reports, as many victims do not contact banks, police, or Action Fraud.
What was the most common fraud type reported to Action Fraud in 2024?
Online shopping and auction fraud was the most commonly reported fraud type, with 52,980 cases recorded in 2024, according to Action Fraud data.