UK Financial Fraud Tops £1.2 Billion in 2022, With 80% of APP Fraud Cases Starting Online

UK Finance has released the Annual Fraud Report disclosing the amount of money stolen through fraud in 2022.

The Key highlights of the report are as follows:

• At least £1.2 billion was stolen by fraudsters and criminals through authorized and unauthorized fraud last year. It equals over £2300  stolen every minute.
• 78% of app fraud cases started online and 18% via telecommunication
• The banking and finance industry was successful in preventing £1.2 billion worth of unauthorized fraud
• Overall, 8% of fraud reduction as of 2021 was seen in 2022.

Unauthorized Fraud Details

Unauthorized fraud losses totaled £726.9 million in 2022. The category has shown a decrease of 1% from 2021 levels. Mainly this fraud occurred through payment cards, remote banking, and cheques. Out of this total, remote purchase fraud reached £395.7 million, fraud through stolen or lost cards increased by 30% totaling £100.2 million, and Card ID theft reached £51.7 million in 2022.

Authorized Fraud Details

APP Authorized Push Payment frauds and resulting losses decreased by 17% as compared to 2021 at £485.2 million. 57% of reported cases were of purchase fraud with case volume crossing the 100,000 barrier for the first time. Investment fraud happened at 24% but with a notable reduction of 34% as compared to 2021.

Popular Means of Fraud

78% of App frauds were committed through online fraud schemes. 18% of fraud was committed via telecommunications. Email fraud and other frauds stood at 2% in 2022 with losses at 12 and 7% respectively,

David Postings Statement

David Postings, CEO of UK Finance said, “UK Finance’s data clearly illustrates the fraud from online and telecommunication channels. The UK’s government is focused on a new strategy that outrightly focuses on stopping fraud right at its source.”

Daniel Holmes Statement

Daniel Holmes, Fraud Prevention SME at Feedzai remarked in his statement. “The fraud risk remains elevated and fraudsters are rapidly adapting to new technologies and tactics. This report entails the importance of maintaining and combining the anti-fraud technology with consumer training and education against fraud for banks.”

Final Thoughts

As the report shows, a robust Fraud Prevention strategy is mandatory due to the massive losses caused by these scams. Even though visible decrease in 2022 as compared to 2021, through new and enhanced anti-fraud tactics, there is still a need to go a long way to mitigate fraud at all costs.

The full Report is downloadable here

Credits: UK Finance in collaboration with Feedzai