£58.9m stolen in card fraud in past 3 years

Almost £60 million has been reported stolen through card fraud over the past three years in the UK according to new research from Trustly, The figures were obtained via a freedom of information request sent to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau run by City of London Police.

The research found that credit card fraud is the most costly and common type of card fraud with over £33 million reported stolen through credit card fraud between 2021 and 2023. This compares to just over £24 million reported stolen through debit card fraud.

Nearly 11,000 people were victims of card fraud in the past three years, including 3,543 people in 2023 alone. This equates to almost 300 victims per month last year. Reports of credit card fraud specifically peaked in 2023 with 2,171 victims – up from 1,997 victims in 2022.

The data shows that thousands of people continue to be victims of fraud each year, despite efforts to protect consumers. However, these victims may still be able to get money back from their card providers via traditional Section 75 protection or chargeback protection.

Trustly says that the increasing adoption of Open Banking payments among businesses could also help protect consumers from fraud in the UK’s payment system. Open Banking allows people to pay approved retailers directly from their bank accounts and offers additional security because customers do not need to enter any payment details. Customers can also verify the transaction using a biometric ID for greater protection.

From October 2024, Open Banking users will also receive additional regulatory protection from authorised push payment (APP) fraud. The new Payment Services Regulator (PSR) rules will mean that UK payment service providers will reimburse all customers who fall victim to APP fraud, save for limited exceptions.

Anisha Sudra, Head of Fraud at Trustly, said “Our research shows that a shocking number of people are falling victim to fraud. It’s concerning that thousands of people lose millions of pounds to fraud in the UK each year. The sophistication of payment fraud is ever-growing and shoppers must remain vigilant to the potential scams. 

“We believe technology offers a transformative approach to preventing fraud by creating a more secure and transparent payment environment. Open Banking combines stringent security measures with user-friendly payment processes. The new PSR rules will provide further protection for consumers against fraud. Hopefully, this will give more people confidence to use Open Banking as the adoption of this technology continues to grow rapidly. Once the new regulations come into force, Open Banking has the potential to become the backbone of secure online shopping, empowering businesses to protect their customers while providing consumers with a seamless and secure payment system fortified against modern fraud threats.” 

Money reported stolen by card fraud

Type of card fraud	2021	2022	2023	Total
Credit card	£9,856,468	£14,104,472	£9,068,379	£33,029,319
Debit card	£11,451,610	£7,122,472	£5,573,942	£24,148,024
Store card	£26,720	£19,361	£23,079	£69,161
Multiple card types in the same report*	£542,188	£943,545	£1,073,892	£2,559,626
Total	£21,876,987	£22,189,851	£15,739,292	£59,806,130

Number of card fraud victims

Type of fraud	2021	2022	2023	Total
Credit card	2116	1997	2171	6284
Debit Card	1426	1377	1278	4081
Store card	25	25	10	60
Multiple card types in the same report*	186	173	84	443
Total	3753	3572	3543	10,868