
Latest research by Cifas reveals 1 in 13 UK adults have been involved in fraudulent conduct during the last year. Those aged between 16-34 were most likely to be involved, with more than 1 in 7 admitting to participating in being involved in at least one form of first-party fraud.
The most common forms of first-party fraud committed by customers in the UK were falsely claiming an online delivery hadn’t been received in order to obtain a refund, receiving a Single Person Discount on a council tax bill, and falsifying an insurance claim.
The types of first-party fraud seen as the most ‘reasonable’ thing to do by respondents were selling a vehicle that was subject to a finance agreement (22.9%), money muling (16.6%) and submitting a false insurance claim (10.3%). These scenarios were also the least likely to be associated with being illegal.
Data from the National Fraud Database during the first nine months of 2021 reveal an 18% increase in cases of fraudulent conduct by first-parties, compared to the same period in 2020. The most common forms of this were the misuse of bank accounts, with almost 56,000 cases, or more than 7 in 10 instances of first-party fraudulent conduct.
Cifas’ Head of Fraud Intelligence, Amber Burridge, said “The findings reveal a continued attitude of fraud being a victimless crime. Committing what may be seen to be ‘everyday’ fraud impacts all our daily finances, such as through higher insurance premiums, increased delivery fees and bigger council tax bills. It’s vital we all recognise the consequences of committing fraud and aren’t tempted into doing it.”
“Research by RUSI has proven the link between fraud and organised crime, and we know criminals will often attempt to convince those they recruit that what they’re doing is harmless. A common example of this is money muling, whereby individuals are asked to receive money into their bank account and forward the funds on to another account, keeping a proportion for themself. In fact, this money has likely come from someone who has been scammed and criminals are trying to mask the money in order to fund high harm crimes such as drug trafficking, people trafficking and terrorist financing.”
“If an opportunity to make money feels too good to be true, then it probably is. Always take time to do your research and consider the impacts of getting involved before doing so.”