Fraud accounts for 40 per cent of all reported crimes, new data has revealed, as Britons report that they are seeing an increase in scam activity.

Nearly £1.2billion was lost to fraud last year, according to figures from the National Crime Agency, with 3.5 million fraud offences having been committed in the year to March 2023.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/fraud-now-makes-up-almost-half-of-reported-crime-how-to-avoid-getting-scammed/ar-BB1q05io

• New ClearScore research finds that nearly half (46%) of Brits worry about falling victim to internet or phone scams – the equivalent of nearly 22 million people
• The figure rises to 49% when worrying about parents and grandparents being at risk
• Worryingly, the new study reveals that 1 in 5 (20%) of people say they have elderly people close to them who have been victims of fraud
• ClearScore offer their top 5 tips on how to stay safe from online and telephone fraud

https://ifamagazine.com/scams-46-brits-worry-theyre-at-risk-as-experts-share-5-top-tips-for-staying-safe/

Complaints about the banking sector have reached the highest level in at least a decade, according to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Consumers raised 80,137 cases with the free resolution service about banking and payment products in the financial year 2023/24, compared with 61,995 in 2022/23.

Concerns about current accounts and credit cards and worries about frauds and scams were behind the increase, the service said.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/banking-complaints-reached-highest-level-230100989.html

Malware - or malicious software - is helping to fuel a murky underworld of bank card theft on the dark web, it has been revealed.

Criminals are selling software programs to other criminals which allow them to more easily harvest unsuspecting victims' personal card details - often on 'subscriptions' costing as little as £80 per month.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/scammers-signing-up-to-credit-card-stealing-subscription-service-for-80-a-month/ar-BB1pUbNJ

This news comes a week after the UK payments group issued a plea to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to impose a 'Tech Levy' on social media giants to pay for the impact of payments fraud originating from their platforms.

From October 2024, payments services providers in the UK must reimburse consumers who have fallen victim to an APP scam when using Faster Payments. The reimbursement will be split 50:50 between sending and receiving PSPs.

https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/44441/uk-economic-secretary-tulip-siddiq-called-on-to-reduce-app-fraud-reimbursement-to-30k

Tensions between the consumer group Which? and the trade body The Payments Association remain high, with the pair at odds over their approach to tackling payment fraud as new figures show soaring scam cases.

Starting in October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) will implement new rules for authorised push payment (APP) scams – where fraudsters trick people into sending money online to fake payees – setting a £415,000 maximum reimbursement level to cover the money lost.

https://thefintechtimes.com/banking-complaints-surge-which-payments-association-lock-horns-over-fraud/

Lawyers for the National Crime Agency secured an order for the recovery of around £1 million linked to a fraud and money-laundering investigation.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has recovered around £1 million in the latest legal step of a probe into an organised crime group linked to a lottery winner, a bomb plot and a £55 million tax fraud.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2024/07/11/nca-recovers-funds-in-litigation-involving-lottery-winner-a-bomb-plot-and-fraud/

Online adverts are using celebrity names and pictures such as Martin Lewis to scam people out of thousands of pounds.

Analysis of Action Fraud data by Money Saving Expert revealed celebrities are being used to falsely endorse cryptocurrency, investing and retirement planning schemes, often marketing it as a way to “get rich quick”.

https://www.ftadviser.com/investments/2024/07/10/scammers-using-celebrity-ads-to-defraud-people-of-millions/

Data published by the Department for Work and Pensions has shown the proposals to snoop on bank accounts will cost £370m to set up. The system would then cost £30m a year to run once it's set up from 2032.

The DWP has confirmed that it will at first focus its attention on the top 15 banks in the UK, which included Barclays, HSBC, NatWest, Santander, and TSB. These account for 97 per cent of the accounts used by people claiming benefits, reports Birmingham Live.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/dwp-announces-it-will-check-bank-accounts-from-15-banks-to-identify-benefit-fraud-and-error/ar-AA1mxy8D

Supplier invoice fraud is continuing to present a significant threat to businesses in the UK. UK Finance has reported that invoice fraud losses hit £50.3m in 2023 which represents an increase of 2% on the previous year.

Invoice fraud tends to arise in circumstances where either (i) a fraudster sets up an email address that is very similar to the actual supplier’s email address or (ii) the supplier’s genuine email address is hacked. In both circumstances, the fraudster will tend to change the payment details in the invoice so that the payment is sent to the fraudster’s bank account.

https://www.stephens-scown.co.uk/business-disputes/supplier-invoice-fraud-who-ends-up-paying-the-bill/