Fraud continues to pose a major threat to the UK and cause serious harm to individuals and society. In the first half of 2024 just over £570 million was stolen in payment fraud as criminals continue to ruthlessly target people and try to deceive them into making payments or providing enough information to enable their accounts to be accessed or controlled.

UK Finance’s mid-year fraud update for 2024 shows the total number of cases rose by 16 per cent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, but with a 1.5 per cent fall in the value of losses across both authorised and unauthorised fraud. This provides a continuing reminder of the ongoing threat from fraudsters and the harm they pose to consumers.

In the first six months of 2024 the data shows diverging trends in unauthorised and authorised payment fraud. The main contributor to the overall increase in fraud cases is unauthorised fraud, primarily through cards, which saw a 19 per cent increase in cases and a seven per cent increase in losses compared with the same period last year. This takes H1 losses for unauthorised card fraud to the highest level since 2020, and 2024 H1 cases were the highest since the first six months of 2018.

OPEN REPORT