Research, Survey and Statistics

Fraud levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels but remain sky high, according to estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).

The CSEW estimated that there were 3.5m cases of fraud in the year to March. This was roughly equivalent to pre-pandemic levels, with the CSEW arguing the pandemic fraud spike was not a permanent trend.

The scale of fraud in the UK may be significantly higher than figures show, suggesting the fraud epidemic is even worse than feared, according to industry experts.

Fraud has skyrocketed in recent years as a result of the rise of online payments, the pandemic and lax enforcement. Figures from UK Finance put the total lost to fraud in 2022 at £1.2bn.

The Financial Ombudsman Service received 21,918 fraud and scam complaints in the 2022/23 financial year.

This was up by almost a fifth (18 per cent) when compared to the 18,450 complaints it received in 2021/22.

https://www.ftadviser.com/fos/2023/06/28/fos-reports-18-rise-in-fraud-and-scam-complaints/

The cost of living crisis has seen insurance fraud soar by 61% as people feel the squeeze, new figures suggest.

The City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) said its figures, which cover March 2022 to April this year, suggest a rise in 'opportunistic fraud' rather than professional fraudsters.

Money.co.uk have released their first Business Fraud report, which uncovers that in the past year the average losses for UK organisations to fraudsters was more than £2.1 billion.

https://businessnewswales.com/businesses-in-the-uk-lost-more-than-2-1-billion-in-the-past-year-to-fraud/

UK Finance’s latest Annual Fraud Report exposes £1.2billion stolen via financial fraud in 2022. While efforts to prevent scams have led to a decline, industry leaders stress the need for continued vigilance and collaborative action.

https://thefintechtimes.com/collaborative-action-to-combat-scams-1-2billion-stolen-uk-finance/

The UK has much further to go in its campaign against fraud as the latest figures show that over £1.2bn was stolen in 2022.

https://www.cityam.com/fraudsters-stole-1-2bn-in-2022-as-uk-labelled-fraud-capital-of-the-world/

Reported employee fraud in the West Midlands hit almost £7.8 million in 2022.

New figures suggest the West Midlands is a hotbed of employee fraud.

Business advisors RSM used a Freedom of Interest request to get figures for white collar crime committed by UK workers.

https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/west-midlands-hot-spot-employee-26717476

According to data presented by Atlas VPN, United Kingdom residents lost a shocking £3.9 billion to fraudsters in the last 12 months, which averages out to about £10.7 million per day. During this period, there were 345,228 reported fraud cases.

https://londonlovesbusiness.com/brits-lost-almost-4-billion-to-fraud-in-the-last-12-months/

In what will not be viewed as the most welcome of statistics, the total value of UK fraud appears to have risen to its pre-pandemic level.

https://www.rahmanravelli.co.uk/articles/uk-fraud-levels//