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UK Bank Fraud Overview:
- Who: Fraud report released by UK Finance shows alarming increase in bank fraud around the United Kingdom.
- Why: Fraud report shows 30 per cent increase in money stolen from bank customers compared to the same period from a year ago.
- Where: Fraud report represents statistics from across the UK.
Bank fraud perpetrated by online criminals is happening at an alarming rate in the United Kingdom, according to a fraud report released by UK Finance on Wednesday.
A total of £754 million has already been stolen from customers during the first half of this year, a 30 percent increase from the same time period a year ago, says the advocacy group.
Fraud in the country has gotten so bad that it is now a national security threat, says UK Finance, which reports that the finance and banking industries are calling on the government to step in and work to tackle the issue across all sectors.
“Our latest figures show the sheer scale of fraud taking place in the UK and highlight clearly the need for coordinated action to address this threat,” said Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance.
Online Shopping a Gateway to Bank Fraud
Among other things, fraudsters have been capitalizing on an increase in online shopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Reuters, and targeting minors as young as 14 years old.
“The banking and finance industry invests billions in advanced systems to try and stop fraud happening in the first place, but criminals are exploiting weaknesses outside of banks’ control to trick customers into making payments directly to them,” said Worobec.
Criminals will often attempt to trick customers into authorising payments into accounts they control, a method known as authorised push payment (APP) fraud.
Scam phone calls, emails, text messages, fake websites, and social media posts are all ways criminals try to convince consumers into giving them their passwords and personal details.
“Criminals continue to target customers with a variety of scams, often via online platforms, and it is only through coordinated action that we will be able to really make progress in addressing the problem,” said Worobec.
APP fraud — which included scams focused around impersonations, investment, romance, and purchases — increased by 71 per cent in the first half of 2021, for a total of £355.3 million, reports UK Finance, who noted that money lost from APP fraud was more than card fraud for the first time.
Which? accused banks last year of unfairly treating customers who fell victim to APP fraud, claiming they were subjected to an “inconsistent lottery” to determine whether or not they would get reimbursed.
Have you been targeted by cyber criminals and/or been the victim of bank fraud? Let us know in the comments!
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