Fraudsters stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in the UK during 2025, an increase of 4% on the previous year, according to UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report 2026.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud accounted for £576.4 million of losses, up 19% year-on-year, with 248,070 cases reported, an increase of 7%. Investment fraud recorded the highest losses among APP scam categories, rising 40% to £221.5 million. The number of cases increased 26% to 14,893.
Purchase scams accounted for 71% of APP fraud cases, with losses increasing 20% to £118.1 million. Romance fraud losses rose 23% to £39.2 million, while impersonation fraud losses fell 12%. Online platforms remained the main starting point for APP fraud, accounting for 66% of cases. A further 17% originated through telecommunications, which accounted for 28% of losses.
Unauthorised fraud losses fell 5% to £703.4 million, although the number of reported cases increased 11% to 3.81 million. Remote purchase card fraud losses rose 3% to £423.5 million, while remote banking fraud losses fell 27% to £104.4 million. Contactless fraud losses increased 8% to £46.8 million.
Banks and financial providers prevented £1.68 billion of unauthorised fraud during 2025. However, reimbursement remains a significant cost, with £354.3 million returned to victims of APP fraud, equivalent to 61% of reported losses.
UK Finance is calling for stronger fraud prevention requirements across technology and telecommunications companies, arguing that banks cannot tackle the problem alone.
Finseta Plc (LON:FIN), formerly Cornerstone FS PLC, is a United Kingdom-based foreignexchange and payments company offering multi-currency accounts and payment solutions to businesses and individuals through its global payments network.
