Scammers stole nearly £422m in the last quarter

A new credit card fraud report from Uswitch which analysed police figures has found that scammers stole £422 million last quarter, from 92,739 reported cases of fraud

Consumers lost £1,212 million to credit card fraud in 2022, down 5% from the previous year with over three quarters (76%) of fraud was credit card fraud. The data suggests £26.1 million was lost through fraudulent ATM withdrawals.

Cybercrime has dominated the headlines over the past two years as fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated in their attacks. In some cases, successful criminals are stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds in just a single intrusion. Those aged 30-39 were targeted the most by fraud and cyber crimes in Q4 of 2023, with those aged 20-29 not far behind. Individuals younger than 70 were most commonly victims of online shopping and auctions fraud (excluding uncategorised crimes).

Older age groups more commonly experienced crimes in the categories of computer software service fraud, advance fee fraud, cheque/card fraud, and door to door sales fraud.

Computer software service fraud involves criminals posing as legitimate software companies, such as Microsoft, calling you to tell you there’s a problem with your computer in order to gain access to your private information or hold you to ransom and commit fraud. Advance fee fraud is when fraudsters target victims to make advance or upfront payments for goods, services and/or financial gains that do not materialise.

In the last quarter of 2023, Bedfordshire saw the biggest rise in the number of reported crimes for a mainland UK police force – figures rose by almost 25% – with the total value of losses reaching nearing £4 million. City of London and Police Scotland were the only other forces that saw increases in Q4 (9% and 6% respectively) with all other forces seeing a decrease from Q3 to Q4.

Salman Haqqi, Uswitch Credit Cards Expert said “Cybercrime has inflicted nearly £2.5 billion in losses on Britons over the past year, highlighting the importance of safeguarding our online data and exercising heightened caution during digital transactions.

“Using a credit card for online purchases provides an added layer of security. With purchases ranging from £100 to £30,000, even partial payment using a credit card entitles consumers to enhanced protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This provision enables reimbursement from the credit card issuer if the vendor becomes unresponsive or disputes arise.”

The most common cases of credit card crime in the UK in 2023/24