AI drives surge in fraud as criminals turn to more sophisticated scams
Fraud losses hit £629m in H1 2025, driven by new investment scams and record card fraud, as AI enables criminals to commit more sophisticated scams.
For the first six months of 2025, there were over 2m confirmed fraud cases, a 17 per cent increase, according to trade body UK Finance, as criminals stole £629.3m, a three per cent increase.
There was a rise in total losses, driven by larger amounts stolen through authorised payment fraud (APP), which rose 12 per cent to £257.5m.
Investment scams were pointed out as the primary driver, increasing by a massive 55 per cent to £97.7m. These now account for 38 per cent of total APP losses and have an average loss of more than 20 times that of a purchase scam.
AI enables fraud
The trade body noted that AI is enabling criminals to commit more sophisticated, high-volume scams through deepfakes and synthetic identities.
Jonathan Frost, global advisory director at BioCatch, explained: “The continued growth of APP fraud remains a major concern.”
“Stopping APP fraud will require more than just technology. It necessitates both better and cross-industry collaboration. The UK market is primed for real-time intelligence-sharing and should embrace it to continue leading the global fight against fraud.”
Banks have prevented £870m of unauthorised fraud through advanced security systems, 20 per cent more than in the first half of 2024.
However, the majority of fraud originated on social media and telecommunications platforms.
As a result, UK Finance has called on the government’s upcoming Fraud Strategy to ensure all sectors are accountable in preventing fraud, as it insists that the financial services industry cannot tackle the threat alone.
Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, stated: “The scale of the threat is not commensurate with the current level of government investment in countering it or the insufficient action by other sectors.”
“The government must prioritise prevention and hold the social media and telecommunications industries to account in its new Fraud Strategy.”
Last month, the chair of Canada Police Authority Board warned that fraud is “damaging the foundations of our nation” and the UK must treat it with the same urgency as street crime.