Scammers stole £11.4bn in the last 12 months

A report by Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s (GASA) conducted in association with UK’s leading fraud prevention service, Cifas  has revealed UK people lost £11.4 billion to scams in the last 12 months, up £4 billion on last year.

With Black Friday imminent and expected to trigger a spike in scam attempts this week, GASA and Cifas are urging consumers to remain vigilant. The warning comes as one in seven (15%) consumers surveyed said they lost cash to criminals in 2024 – up from 10% in 2023. The average loss per victim was £1,400, and only 18% recovered all their money.

However, there are promising signs that the ability of consumers to spot danger signs is improving. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of respondents said they could confidently recognise if an offer seemed too good to be true. Despite the increased awareness, 61% of people revealed they encounter scams at least once a month – in particular, through rogue delivery text/SMS messages, and shopping and investment scams via online platforms such as Gmail, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

In addition to the financial harm caused by a scam, 53% of victims felt a strong emotional response too. However, 71% of victims still did not report the crime – suggesting they may have been ashamed to do so, blamed themselves, or lacked the confidence that their complaint would be dealt with. In total, 3 in 5 respondents (60%), said their trust online had declined because of scams.

Prof. Jorij Abraham, Managing Director of GASA, said “Losing £11.4 billion to scams in 12 months is absolutely staggering. It demands stronger action and an unwavering commitment to bringing criminals to justice. The UK’s counter-fraud community needs more support if they are to intensify the fight against scammers, restore confidence, and protect people from this growing threat.”

Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, said “These figures are a stark reminder as to the scale and breadth of scams impacting UK consumers. Not only do victims suffer financially, but they often – wrongly – feel shame and blame themselves.

“There has never been a greater need to protect people and shift the dial on the UK’s scams emergency. However, industry cannot do this alone. We need greater cross-sector collaboration and an ability to share data and intelligence from all industry sectors as well as government departments, law enforcement, and the public sector.”