Cifas has today launched its Fraudscape report detailing the incidence of fraud in the UK.
• Number of fraud cases in the UK has increased, after a dip in 2017
• It hits under 21s and over 60s the most
• Total of 323,600 cases of fraud in 2018 – but likely to be higher
Laura Suter, personal finance analyst at investment platform AJ Bell, comments:
“Fraud cases are on the rise, with almost 324,000 cases of fraud reported last year, an increase of 6%. However, the actual figures will be far higher as often people are too embarrassed to report that they have been victims and don’t even want to tell family and friends.
“The youngest and the oldest in society are most likely to be victims of fraud, with those under the age of 21 and over the age of 60 most likely to be hit. Often this is where they are lured into being ‘money mules’, where they – often unwittingly – help fraudsters to launder stolen money by using legitimate bank accounts.
“By far the biggest area of fraud is identity fraud, which grew 10% between 2017 and 2018. Fraudsters are getting increasingly savvy, using more sophisticated means to gather data about people. But people are also willingly publishing their life details on social media, making these sites rich pickings for scammers. As we increasingly use online services for all areas of our lives we need to make sure that we’re savvy with our details online, particularly older age groups who might be newer to using the internet.”
