GlobalData
3 min read
With fraud now the most prevalent crime in the UK, and attempts continuing to increase, as reported by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) with a 19% surge over the last year, the urgency for immediate action is apparent.
Yet, despite UK Finance recording 3.31 million instances of fraud in 2024, the UK remains a global leader in reducing fraud losses. The industry prevented £1.14bn of unauthorised fraud last year, equivalent to stopping 67p for every £1 a fraudster tried to steal, and reimbursed customers for 98% of all unauthorised fraud.
There is no time for complacency, however. Criminals are always among the first to embrace new technologies, ceaselessly innovating, and evolving their tactics. The industry must act now, collaborating on preventive strategies to protect consumers proactively.
Success in preventing Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud – with case volumes dropping in 2024 to their lowest level since 2021 – has led fraudsters to seek fertile new grounds for attack. Remote purchase fraud, for example, has surged, while pressure for the Single European Payment Area to adopt real-time cross-border payments presents a significant opportunity for criminals to abuse.
The UK’s success in mitigating fraud and reimbursing customers is no reason to stop adapting. Fraud is often just as emotionally damaging as it is financially draining, with a Lloyds Banking Group survey last year finding more than two-thirds of fraud victims suffered negative psychological impacts from the experience. To protect victims from trauma and prevent fraudsters from realising any profits, continuous adaptation and early intervention, not just reimbursement, is needed.
Behavioural and device intelligence – including keystroke and mouse activity, touch screen behaviour, and physical device attributes – empowers banks to recognise and stop fraud in real-time, before any money leaves a would-be-victim’s account.
Banks cannot do this alone, however. They are often the last line of defence. Fraud typically begins upstream, with phishing, fake ads, and scam calls occurring on social media and other online channels. Other sectors need to bear some responsibility for the origins of these attacks and adopt the same commitment to fraud prevention as their financial services counterparts. Regulators must also hold those other sectors accountable.
The Online Safety Act, while a step in the right direction, has fallen short of enforcing responsibility among tech giants. The government’s future strategy must provide direction and incentives to ensure collaboration between the tech, telecoms and banking sectors.
