Scammers keep scoring: Brits fleeced for £1.3B as Americans lose $3.5B to impersonators

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Scammers keep scoring: Brits fleeced for £1.3B as Americans lose $3.5B to impersonators

More reasons to love social media and AI

Connor Jones

Connor<br>Jones

Cybersecurity reporter

Published<br>tue 16 Jun 2026 // 12:02 UTC

Brits lost £1.28 billion ($1.7 billion) to payment fraud last year as scams continued to thrive on online platforms and telecoms networks, according to the latest figures from banking trade association UK Finance.<br>The 2025 losses represent a modest four percent rise on the previous year, the trade association said, but the main sources of fraud remained familiar.<br>UK Finance said two-thirds (66 percent) of incidents start with online platforms, such as scams promoted through social media adverts.

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Telecoms accounts for a smaller proportion (17 percent) but encompasses crimes such as impersonation fraud, which can result in larger per-crime losses.

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Impersonation fraud

Impersonation fraud is a broad term to describe what some would refer to as a branch of phishing or social engineering.<br>Scammers contact prospective victims while pretending to represent a bank or other trusted entity, and convince them to pay a sum for things like services or investments.<br>Some also involve convincing victims to surrender their personal or financial data, which is then used to make fraudulent payments using the victim's accounts.

Calling for tighter regulations on tech and telecoms, UK Finance said online marketplaces must take measures to reduce scammers' use of their platforms. This could include prohibiting off-platform payments, relying solely on secure alternatives. It also called for stronger action against fraudulent social media advertising.<br>"The financial sector invests huge amounts in protecting customers, but we cannot be the only line of defense," said Ruth Ray, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance. "Almost £1.3 billion was stolen again last year and it is clear we are not tackling the underlying problem effectively enough.<br>"Given most authorized push payment (APP) fraud still starts via online tech platforms or via telecoms, we urgently need stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on these sectors. This is the way to reduce the harm and stop criminals and tech companies profiting from these devastating crimes."<br>APP fraud losses jumped 19 percent in 2025 compared with the year before.<br>Total losses exceeded £576 million ($772.8 million), and consumers incurred the vast majority of these losses. Of the total cases, purchase scams comprised more than seven in ten, with annual losses increasing 20 percent to £118.1 million ($158.4 million).<br>APP fraud involves convincing the victim to pay for something themselves, but the criminal giving the orders is the only party to financially benefit.<br>Crimes that fall under the APP umbrella include investment fraud, romance fraud, and impersonation fraud – all of which saw double-digit percentage increases in case numbers.

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"What makes APP scams particularly worrying is how much can be lost before a victim even realizes, and how little advice still exists for consumers once it happens," said Aditya Hindocha, VP of account partnerships at SquareTrade Europe.

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"Device warranties largely won't cover data theft. Home insurance excludes digital losses. Banks may refund some fraudulent transactions, but there's no guarantee. Consumers today lack support for what comes next: restoring stolen funds, recovering a compromised identity, or navigating the months of fallout that follow."<br>Unauthorized payment fraud, under which the remaining offenses fall, accounted for a higher value of total losses (£703.4 million/$943.8 million).<br>While the total value of losses represents a decrease of five percent compared to 2024, the number of cases increased by 11 percent to 3.81 million, according to the latest report [PDF].<br>Unauthorized fraud encompasses offenses such as online payments made using stolen card details, lost or stolen card fraud (such as ATM skimming, petty card theft), remote banking fraud, and contactless fraud.<br>US faring no better<br>The Federal Trade Commission published figures this week for impersonation fraud in the US, which reached $3.5 billion in associated losses last year.<br>It said that impersonation fraud was the most commonly reported fraud type last year, accounting for nearly one in three cases across 2025.<br>Nearly $1 billion of the total was lost after scammers impersonated a business, with the most common type being banks, and around $920 million as a result of...