Whether it’s pension scams, banking app scams and self-assessment tax fraud,more people are falling victim to scammers.

Fraudsters made off with millions of pounds in the first half of 2023, new figures from banking trade body UK Finance have revealed.

https://moneyweek.com/personal-finance/fraudsters-stole-more-than-pound500-million-in-first-half-of-the-year

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (the ECCTA) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, following over a year of debate and amendment as it progressed through Parliament. It is a broad and comprehensive piece of legislation which aims to tackle the use of the UK’s corporate, real estate and business sectors by criminals for nefarious purposes and address the reputation London sometimes has as a place where money laundering and fraud are commonplace.

https://www.linklaters.com/en/insights/blogs/businesscrimelinks/2023/october/the-economic-crime-and-corporate-transparency-act-receives-royal-assent/

More than half a billion pounds was lost to fraud in the UK over the first half of the year, while the number of authorised scams jumped by more than a fifth, according to new data.

Criminals stole £580 million through authorised and unauthorised fraud over the first six months of 2023, UK Finance revealed.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/purchase-romance-scams-drive-authorised-230100662.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Fraudsters took £580m from Britons during the first six months of 2023, according to a report by banking trade association UK Finance, which urged Big Tech to take more responsibility for online scams.

The group called the issue a “national security threat”, with MPs warning that Britain risks becoming a “safe haven for fraudsters”.

https://www.cityam.com/brits-lose-staggering-580m-to-fraud-in-six-months-as-banks-urge-big-tech-to-do-more/

Santander has called for businesses to be vigilant against scams where fraudsters are pretending to be an employee from the bank.

Con artists are phoning businesses up and asking members of staff to give them access to their online banking account with the plan to transfer cash into scammers’ accounts.

https://www.yourmoney.com/news/scam-epidemic-santander-issues-warning-to-businesses-over-staff-impersonation-cons/

Holidaymakers have been warned against making fraudulent travel insurance claims ahead of the half term break this week.

What’s known as ‘opportunistic fraud’ makes up 85% of all travel insurance scams and is descried as when people who aren’t involved in organised crime attempt to make a fast buck with a fake claim.

https://www.yourmoney.com/news/scam-epidemic-police-warn-holidaymakers-against-making-fake-travel-insurance-claims/

• 53% of Generation Z targeted via impersonation scam
• 75% of Facebook users have been contacted by a fraudster
• 81% of savers have funds restored after fraud-related losses

One in five adults in the UK claim to have been a victim of financial fraud, with Generation X most likely to have handed over cash to a scammer, Paragon Bank research has found.

https://ifamagazine.com/a-fifth-of-adults-have-fallen-victim-to-financial-fraud-with-generation-x-most-vulnerable-paragon-bank-research-reveals/

Artificial Intelligence is accelerating an "arms race" in cybercrime, with hackers using the technology to attack all sizes of business, one of the police officers leading the battle against online fraud and theft has told Insider.

Detective Superintendent Vanessa Eyles, who runs the Cyber Resilience Centre for the West Midlands, has warned that hackers are increasingly targeting smaller businesses, not only for their own money and data, but as a way of getting into their targets' supply chains.

https://www.insidermedia.com/news/midlands/businesses-need-better-fraud-defences-in-ai-arms-race-say-police

Tony Craddock, director general of the Payments Association, warned that “overzealous” regulations could bump up costs for payment firms and cause a “flight of e-money firms” from the UK.

Speaking to City A.M. Craddock warned that a series of “well intended but misguided sets of regulations” risked eroding the City’s status as a leading hub of innovative payments.

https://www.cityam.com/new-fraud-rules-risk-a-flight-of-e-money-firms-from-uk-payments-chief-warns/

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of people have been targeted by scams in the past year, a survey indicates.

Six in 10 (61%) people surveyed for NatWest said they now see more digital and online scams than “real life” cons, such as bogus sellers going door-to-door.

https://www.itv.com/thismorning/articles/74-of-people-have-been-targeted-by-scams-in-the-past-year