The UK banking and finance industry has prevented more than £1.8bn of fraud last year, according to the latest UK Finance Fraud the Facts report.
As per the report, there was a 9% increase in fraud prevention in 2019 compared to 2018.
UK Finance, a trade association, which is said to represent over 250 firms across the industry, said that £824.8m was stolen by criminals using unauthorised card, cheque fraud, and remote banking in 2019. This marked a 2% drop compared to 2018.
UK Finance says there was an increase in APP scams in 2019
The trade association said £456m lost to authorised push payment (APP) scams in 2019, compared to £354m reported for the year before. These involved cases where customers were tricked into authorising a payment to an account controlled by a wrongdoer.
UK Finance said that it has also made public separate figures for the first time on compensation for customers under the voluntary Code on APP fraud which came into effect since late May 2019.
The data revealed that customers have till date received £41m in compensation in cases assessed under the Code since its launch. The compensation amount made up 41% of the total losses in the cases, said the trade association.
According to UK Finance, the rates of compensation were higher for fraud cases involving losses of £10,000 or more, and also for impersonation scams in which criminals try to pass off as banks, police, or other organisations.
The UK Finance Fraud the Facts report said that in spite of several measures implemented by the finance industry, the battle continues while new fronts have opened up in recent years, especially with online adverts and social media content driving huge growth in financial fraud.
UK Finance economic crime managing director said: “The introduction of the voluntary Code last May has meant more victims of authorised push payment fraud are receiving compensation, particularly in cases involving higher value losses and more sophisticated scams.
“However, criminal gangs are continuing to exploit online platforms to target customers directly and trick them into handing over their money or information. This shows why fraud and other economic crime should be included within the new regulatory framework for online harms, to ensure all sectors play their part in tackling the threat posed by fraud to our society.”
