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Banking fraud

Criminals successfully stole £1.3 billion from individuals through banking fraud and scams in 2025 according to industry figures. Banking and other types of fraud accounted for over 45% of crimes against individuals in England and Wales in 2025, with around 1 in 14 adults the victim of a type of fraud in this period.  

The government has estimated the cost of fraud to society (including banking fraud and non-banking fraud) was at least £14.4 billion in 2023 to 2024. This sum includes money lost as well as the cost of caring for victims, recovery of losses, investigation and prosecution of fraudsters.

In March 2026, the government published its Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029 to “disrupt crime, support economic resilience and deliver justice”.

Some of the main initiatives include:

• launching the public-private Online Crime Centre (OCC) to share data and collaborate on interventions that eliminate online fraud at scale,
• operating Report Fraud, the new, streamlined reporting service, to provide a robust and improved reporting mechanism for victims of fraud,
• introducing a Fraud Victims Charter which will set out a minimum standard of care across all support providers, to ensure consistent victim support,
• enhancing the law enforcement PROTECT response by increasing data-led proactive policing and providing targeted support to at-risk individuals, and
• collaborating with the telecommunications, online and financial services sectors to deliver interventions that address their vulnerability to criminal exploitation.

The nature and scale of banking fraud

Industry body, UK Finance, estimates that criminals successfully stole £1.28 billion through banking fraud and scams in 2025. Of this, £703 million was unauthorised and £576 million was authorised.

Unauthorised fraud is where the fraudulent transaction is carried out by a third party, not the victim. Authorised fraud involves the victim being tricked into paying money into another account that is controlled by a criminal. This is also known as Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud.

Payment providers almost always reimburse victims of unauthorised fraud. Since October 2024, payment providers have been required by law to reimburse APP victims, subject to some conditions such as the customer being grossly negligent. Since the law was changed, the reimbursement rate has increased from around 54% to 65%.

How the police respond to fraud

Most fraud cases are investigated by local police forces. However, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Report Fraud based within the City of London Police is the national reporting centre for fraud (in Scotland, frauds are reported directly to Police Scotland).

The City of London Police then refers cases with potential for investigation to local forces which may work on cases alone, or with other forces in Regional Organised Crime Units (ROCUs).

Cases which are particularly serious, complex or wide in geographic scope may be investigated by the National Crime Agency or the Serious Fraud Office.   

In recent years, the police have been criticised for failing to take fraud seriously. For example, in the year ending March 2025, only 4% of recorded fraud offences were referred to territorial forces for investigation.

Efforts to combat fraud

The public sector’s approach to fraud has been scrutinised in recent years by organisations including the policing inspectorate (PDF), the Home Affairs Committee and the National Audit Office. Key criticisms include the lack of a joined-up strategy, fraud being treated as a low priority by police forces, and insufficient action by the tech and banking industries to stop scams happening.