UK payment fraud losses show decline

UK FInance has re-iterated its call for cross-sector action to tackle criminal gangs perpetrating large scale fraud in the UK, as figures for the first half of 2022 show that total of over £609.8 million was stolen through scams.

The data represent a decline of 13 per cent compared to H1 2021. Of this total, unauthorised fraud loses were £360.8 million and authorised push payment (APP) fraud losses were £249.1 million, both down on H1 2021.

Despite the apparent decline, UK Finance notes that the drop was partially due to H1 21 being an exceptionally high period for fraud, rather than the start of a downward trend.

Katy Worobec, managing director of Economic Crime at UK Finance, says: “As we have warned previously, the level of fraud in the UK is such that it must be considered a national security threat. The industry is continuously focused on tackling the threat as we know criminals continue to find new ways to exploit potential victims. However, criminal gangs simply bypass the advanced security measures banks have in place and instead directly target the customer, usually outside the confines of the banking system. This is why it is key that other sectors work with us to fight fraud as it remains a persistent threat to businesses, consumers and the growth of the economy not to mention the reputation of the UK as a place to do business.”

UK Finance also collects data on cases assessed under the APP voluntary code, which is set to come to an end with the introduction of mandatory reimbursements under new legislation. As a subset of the total amount refunded above, £117.2 million of losses were returned to victims under the APP code, accounting for 60 per cent of losses in these cases.