Shocking new figures show scale of £420bn fraud black market impacting millions of Brits

Across 15 countries, over a fifth (21%) of respondents reported falling victim, with £168bn falling into the hands of fraudsters. When including wider social costs – like the loss in productivity from having to deal with the aftermath of fraud – the 15 economies suffered £420bn worth of damages.

In the UK the SMF estimated 10 million Britons fell victim to fraud between 2021 and 2023, costing the wider economy around £16bn.

The average loss for Britons was £907, with a third (33%) reporting suffering a negative emotional impact and 18% an impact to their finances.

The researchers say international co-ordination on counter-fraud efforts is now desperately needed due to criminals ability to act across international boundaries whilst individual nations police forces are constrained by geography and the cost of trying to navigate international arrangements.

While Labour’s manifesto pledged a focus on fraud, plans for international collaboration have yet to emerge, which experts say is at odds to other types of economic crime.

THE UK is being urged to lead a cross-border war on a £420 billion ‘fraudemic’ that is sweeping the globe

One in five adults have been victims of fraudsters in the last three years, according to a landmark global report which surveyed 28,000 people across 15 countries.

And more than 10 million people have been hit by fraud in the UK alone in the last three years – losing an average of over £900 each.

The catastrophic losses should now prompt the UK Government to take the lead to forge a new international agreement to crackdown on criminal gangs behind tidal wave of fraud, according to the Social Market Foundation report commissioned by Santander UK.

The cross-party think tank has released the first-of-its-kind ‘Fraud Threat Prevalence Report’ to highlight the massive threat being posed by global scammers who no longer need to rob banks as they can target people’s accounts from the comfort of their own sofa anywhere on the planet.

They say a comprehensive international agreement, including committing to prioritising and investing more resources into tackling fraud, is needed whilst a cross-departmental Economic Crime Leadership Group should be set-up

Richard Hyde of the Social Market Foundation, said: “It is not just the UK that is besieged by fraudsters – both developed and developing countries face huge fraud challenges.

“Any nation acting alone remains ill-equipped to deal with today’s fraudsters, who can operate from anywhere and claim a victim thousands of miles away. To tackle the challenge, governments across the world need to co-ordinate and put in place strong counter-fraud measures at home; this will create the best platform from which the world can deal with cross-border fraud. We believe that the UK can and should facilitate and lead that global movement”.

Stephen White, chief operating officer at Santander UK, added: “The report puts to paper the sheer scale of the fraudemic that we’re seeing. Despite the best efforts of banks and policymakers, the criminal gangs who sit behind fraud are enriching themselves to the tune of billions and costing the global economy hundreds of billions. Fraud has become a global phenomenon, as such it needs global, collective action. The UK is in a prime position to lead this charge, but we need renewed focus on tackling the fraudemic across Government, banks, and the global technology and communication companies that connect criminals with potential victims.”