The Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s (GASA) latest report, The State of Scams in the UK – with the UK fraud prevention trade association, Cifas – suggests UK people lost £11.4 billion to scams in the last 12 months, up £4 billion on last year. GASA and Cifas are urging consumers to remain vigilant.
The warning comes as one in seven (15pc) of consumers surveyed said they lost cash to criminals in 2024 – up from 10pc in 2023. The average loss per victim was £1,400, and only 18pc recovered all their money. The ability of consumers to spot danger signs is improving, the survey suggests. A majority (71pc) of respondents said they could confidently recognise if an offer seemed too good to be true. Despite that awareness, 61pc 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.
Besides financial harm caused by a scam, 53pc of victims felt a strong emotional response too. Most, 71pc 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. Three in five respondents (60pc), 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.”
In May, Cifas launched its Fraud Pledges – a set of five proposals challenging the Government, law enforcement and regulators, social media and Big Tech to do more to make tackling fraud and scams a national priority. The State of Scams in the UK report revealed nearly a third (32pc) of respondents rated the Government’s efforts to deal with scammers as ‘very poor’.
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.”
About the study
It involved 2,000 British citizens across all age groups over 18-years-old and many backgrounds. Slightly more women (55pc) responded than men (45pc), with the average participant aged between 35 and 44 with a vocational education.
