North Wales is biggest fraud hotspot in the UK

The Co-operative Bank has conducted research to identify the fraud hotspots, looking at the number of fraud cases in different parts of the UK. The research also looked at the most common types of fraud in the UK and how much this is costing victims by using National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) data.

North Wales is the biggest fraud hotspot in the UK, with 3,005 reports of fraud in the last year (43 per 1,000 people)

The top three fraud hotspots in the UK are all in Wales. North Wales ranks first with 3,005 fraud reports over 13 months, amounting to 43 cases and £141,281 lost per 1,000 people, totalling nearly £10 million.

Gwent is second with 2,471 reports, translating to 37 cases and £132,808 lost per 1,000 people, totalling £8.9 million. South Wales is third with 5,452 reports, equating to 18 cases and £62,826 lost per 1,000 people, totalling £18.8 million.

Online shopping and auction fraud is the UK’s most common fraud, with 66,787 reports in 13 months, accounting for 21% of all fraud cases. This type caused £106 million in losses, 7% of the UK’s total, with an average loss of £1,587 per case, showing its widespread impact.

Advance fee fraud is the second most common, involving upfront payments for nonexistent services or goods. There were 33,946 cases reported in a year, making up 11% of all fraud reports. Total losses reached £73.7 million, with an average loss of £2,171 per case.

Cheques, Plastic Cards and Online Bank Accounts rank in third. This fraud involves criminals stealing cards or chequebooks to access money, often through ATMs, counterfeit cards, or identity theft. With 22,971 cases reported, it accounts for 7% of UK fraud and £82.2 million in losses, averaging £3,578 per case.

Next is consumer non-investment fraud, with 21,994 reports in the UK over the past year, costing £73.6 million (5% of total losses). This is followed by financial investment fraud, with 15,160 cases reported, this fraud type led to £294.9 million in losses (18% of UK losses), averaging £19,453 per case.

Computer Software Service Fraud takes sixth place, with 12,939 cases, costing the UK £9.9 million, with an average loss of £765 per case.

Ticket Fraud comes seventh, with 10,143 cases, costing £9.8 million overall, with each victim losing around £966, followed by dating scams, with 9,578 recorded cases, leading to £103.2 million in losses (6% of UK losses). Victims lost an average of £10,775, often due to fake online dating profiles designed to steal money or personal information.

Rank	UK Location	Number of fraud reports	Number of reports per 1,000 people	The amount lost to fraud	The average amount lost to fraud per 1,000 people
1	North Wales	3,005	43	£9,900,000	£141,281
2	Gwent	2,471	37	£8,900,000	£132,808
3	South Wales	5,452	18	£18,800,000	£62,826
4	Northamptonshire	3,789	12	£20,900,000	£65,190
5	Northumbria	4,944	15	£16,500,000	£51,471
6	Dorset	3,951	10	£15,700,000	£40,963
7	Nottinghamshire	6,141	7	£26,300,000	£31,504
8	Surrey	6,635	5	£40,200,000	£33,099
9	Cheshire	5,096	7	£20,500,000	£26,685
10	Hampshire	8,777	6	£39,100,000	£27,597

 

Rank	Fraud type	Number of fraud reports	Percentage of total fraud reports	The amount lost to fraud	Percentage of total reported losses	Average amount lost per case
1	Online Shopping and Auctions	66,787	21%	£106,000,000	7%	£1,587
2	Other Advance Fee Frauds	33,946	11%	£73,700,000	5%	£2,171
3	Cheque, Plastic Card and Online Bank Accounts (not PSP)	22,971	7%	£82,200,000	5%	£3,578
4	Other Consumer Non-Investment Fraud	21,994	7%	£73,600,000	5%	£3,346
5	Other Financial Investment	15,160	5%	£294,900,000	18%	£19,453
6	Computer Software Service Fraud	12,939	4%	£9,900,900	1%	£765
7	Ticket Fraud	10,143	3%	£9,800,000	1%	£966
8	Dating Scam	9,578	3%	£103,200,000	6%	£10,775
9	Door-to-Door Sales and Bogus Tradesmen	6,701	2%	£39,300,000	2%	£5,865
10	Rental Fraud	4,963	2%	£9,700,000	1%	£1,954