Online scammers speed up: Hit gold every 15 seconds

There were over one million fraud attempts in the UK in the first six months of 2016, or one every 15 seconds - more than 50 per cent higher than the same period of last year.

Between January and June 2016 there were 1,007,094 fraud cases in the UK compared to 660,308 in the first six months of 2015. Each case represents a card or account attacked, not an individual person.

Financial Fraud Action UK figures include payment card, remote banking and good old fashioned cheque fraud losses.

Katy Worobec, FFA UK’s director, said:

“Last year, banks stopped £7 in £10 of attempted fraud from happening. But as the banks’ systems get more advanced, fraudsters turn their attention elsewhere and sadly this often means tricking people out of their personal details and money. ...We are asking people to take five – to take that moment – to pause and think before they respond to any financial requests and share any personal or financial details.”

The UK payment industry is also calling on consumers to "Take Five" before giving out personal details. FFA surveys show that most people are aware of the common tactics used by scammers. But people still give out their details – more than a quarter said they’d provided personal details even though they knew they should not do so.

Tony Blake, Senior Fraud Prevention Officer, DCPCU (Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit), said: “Many people already know the dos and don’ts when it comes to sharing personal details, but it is easy to forget if you feel flustered, pressurised or rushed into sharing information. Take Five is about knowing it is fine to stop a conversation or not to respond to an email so you can take a moment to think and take back control of the situation.”

Total losses in 2015 were £755m, up 26 per cent on 2014, 75 per cent were the result of payment card fraud, 22 per cent from remote banking and three per cent from cheque fraud

Seventy per cent of card frauds were related to remote purchases, 13 per cent were due to lost and stolen cards, eight per cent were due to counterfeit cards and seven per cent due to card ID theft – either using documents to fraudulently obtain a card or using such information to take control of an existing card or account.

FFA represents the main players in the UK payment industry to promote collaboration and improve public understanding of fraud risks.

More details available from FFA UK here. ®