One in five UK adults fell victim to financial scams in the past year, with younger generations and even children increasingly being targeted, according to a new damning report.
A sweeping new study has revealed that a staggering 20% of UK adults lost money to scams in the year leading up to March, shedding light on the growing sophistication and scale of fraud across the country.
The findings come from the State of Scams in the UK report, jointly published by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), fraud prevention group Cifas, and Tietoevry Banking, a financial software firm. The report paints a worrying picture of a country under siege by online criminals.
How UK Adults Are Being Targeted
From email cons to fake listings on online marketplaces, scammers are exploiting every digital channel possible. According to the research:
- Emails, phone calls, texts, social media, and online adverts are the most common entry points for scams.
- Shopping scams are the most frequent, duping 45% of victims.
- One in four adults now faces scam attempts multiple times each week.
Even more shocking, one in six parents of children aged 7 to 17 say at least one of their children has been scammed.
With the festive season and Black Friday approaching, experts are warning that criminals will be ramping up their efforts.
“Scams are no longer isolated incidents. They’ve become a systemic, data-driven threat to the UK’s digital economy,” said Jorij Abraham, Managing Director at GASA.
New Agreement to Tackle Scam Calls
In a bid to curb phone-based fraud, a new government-industry pact was signed this week aimed at shielding the UK’s mobile network from scammers.
Mobile providers have agreed to:
- Upgrade their networks within 12 months to block spoofed UK numbers from foreign call centres.
- Introduce advanced call tracing tech to help police identify and shut down scam operations.
“We’re stepping up our defences to protect victims and make sure the UK is the hardest place in the world for scammers to operate,” said Lord Hanson, Minister for Fraud.
Victims Left Counting the Cost And More
The financial loss is only part of the story.
While 77% of victims reported scams to their payment providers and 47% managed to recover some funds, others weren’t so lucky.
- Millennials (ages 29–44) lost an average of £1,456.90.
- Gen-X (ages 45–60) lost an average of £444.10.
More than a third of scam victims 34% reported a moderate or significant impact on their mental well-being, often experiencing shame or emotional distress.
“Fraud is a national emergency costing the UK billions each year and affecting millions of lives. What’s especially alarming is the growing number of younger victims, including children,” said Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas.
How Brits Are Fighting Back
Despite the rise in scams, public awareness is growing. Nine in ten adults said they take steps to verify offers before parting with their money.
The most common precautions?
- Trusting their gut, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
- Checking for spelling or grammatical errors.
- Verifying the source and legitimacy of offers.
Yet mistakes still happen. Among those who got caught out:
- 22% said the scam appeared “very realistic.”
- 9% admitted to acting too quickly.
- 6% were unfamiliar with the real brand that the fraudsters impersonated.
“Today’s criminals create highly targeted and convincing attacks,” warned Gunnar Koren, Head of Financial Crime Prevention at Tietoevry Banking.
With scams on the rise and methods becoming more sophisticated, the UK faces an uphill battle.
But the coordinated efforts between government, telecoms, and financial firms mark a significant shift in strategy. The hope? To make the UK a hostile environment for fraudsters and a safer place for consumers.
