The City of London Police is warning businesses and members of the public to stay alert to payment diversion fraud after new analysis revealed victims had more than £101 million stolen over the last financial year.

Payment diversion fraud occurs when criminals manipulate a victim into sending money to a bank account under their control instead of the intended recipient. Criminals commonly gain access to email accounts or create convincing impersonation emails to trick victims into changing payment details.

Over the 2025/26 financial year, Report Fraud received 3,657 reports of Payment Diversion Fraud, a 3 per cent increase compared with the previous year. Although overall reported amount stolen has fallen, victims still reported having more than £101 million stolen.

https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2026/september/criminals-steal-101-million-through-payment-diversion-fraud-as-city-of-london-police-issues-warning-to-businesses-and-the-public/