Investment scams pushing up amount of money being lost to APP fraud – UK Finance

Financial losses from people being tricked into transferring money to a fraudster increased by 12% annually in the first half of this year, with investment scams playing a key role in the rise, according to a banking industry body.

But the number of authorised push payment fraud (APP) cases overall recorded by UK Finance decreased – and there was also an increase in the amount of money being returned to victims.

The average loss per APP case in the first half of this year was £2,325 – but the average loss per case varies significantly across different types of scam.

For example, the average loss for a purchase scam was £661 – while for investment scams the average loss was £15,098.

UK Finance said APP fraud losses were £257.5 million in the first half of 2025, a 12% increase on the same period last year.

APP cases fell by 8% over the same period, to 110,747. While cases decreased, the number of APP fraud payments increased by 4% compared with the first half of 2024, reaching 226,306 in the first half of this year.

UK Finance also said that £159.2 million was returned to victims in the first half of this year. This was a 24% increase compared with the first half of 2024.

The figures indicate that in the first half of this year, the amount of money returned to victims represented around 62% of APP losses recorded during the period. In the first half of 2024, the amount of money returned to victims represented about 56% of losses in that period.

In October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) introduced new mandatory APP scam reimbursement rules. Previously, there was a voluntary code in place.

Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.
Capital at risk.

Terms and conditions apply.

Go to website

ADVERTISEMENT

Under the mandatory code, there is an £85,000 reimbursement limit but banks can choose to reimburse higher amounts. There is also an optional excess of up to £100 that firms can apply. People will not be refunded if they are found to have been complicit in the fraud or grossly negligent.

UK Finance highlighted recent figures from the PSR indicating 88% of “in scope” APP fraud losses were reimbursed. UK Finance’s data covers a wider range of payments and account types than those covered by the PSR rules which means they are not directly comparable, the banking industry body said.

UK Finance said the main reason for the increase in the amount of money being lost to APP fraud in the first half of this year was investment scams.

Some £97.7 million was reported stolen through this type of fraud in the first half of this year, marking a 55% increase on the same time last year.

Investment fraud cases often involve larger amounts of money and it can take longer for people to recognise the scam, so some losses reported will relate to cases that started in previous years, UK Finance said.

Losses from purchase scams, where a victim pays in advance for goods or services that are never received, continued to be the most common form of APP fraud and accounted for 72% of all APP cases recorded by UK Finance.

The figures also include romance scams, where victims are tricked into believing they are in a relationship, as well as impersonation scams where criminals pretend to be from organisations such as the police and banks.

Losses to romance scams increased by 35% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2024.

Meanwhile, UK Finance said that public education campaigns have helped to push down impersonation scam cases and losses.

It also added that two-thirds (66%) of APP fraud cases started online and 17% started through telecommunications networks.

Looking across fraudulent payments generally, UK Finance said its members reported that criminals stole £629.3 million in the first half of the year, a 3% increase on the same period in 2024. There were more than 2.09 million confirmed cases of fraud, a 17% increase on the same period last year.

Losses from unauthorised transactions across payment cards, remote banking and cheques added up to £371.8 million in the first half of this year, a 3% fall compared with the same period in 2024. The total number of recorded cases was just over 1.98 million, representing a 19% rise.

The number of “card not present” fraud cases, which happen when a criminal uses stolen card details, jumped by 22%.

Banks are reporting challenges with criminals tricking victims into handing over one-time passcodes, which then allows criminals to register digital wallets and make fraudulent payments, the report said.

Banks prevented £870 million of unauthorised fraud through advanced security systems, 20% more than in the first half of 2024 and equating to around 70p in every £1 attempted.

Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Fraud continues to be a major threat to our society and our economy, and criminals continue to adapt ways to steal victims’ money and funnel significant sums of money to criminal enterprises, impacting society greatly.

“Despite the ongoing investment and prevention measure by the industry, the majority of fraud originates outside the banking system, online and over the phone, where manipulation begins long before any payment is made.”

He said fraud prevention must be prioritised and social media and telecommunications industries must be held to account in the government fraud strategy.

UK Finance’s fraud data is reported to it by its members, which include financial providers, credit, debit and charge card issuers, and card payment acquirers. Each incident of fraud does not equal one person being defrauded but instead refers to the number of cards or accounts defrauded, the report said.

Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK said: “The latest UK Finance figures highlight the continuing rise in fraud and the urgent need for stronger cross-sector action. Fraudsters are exploiting online and telecoms platforms to target victims long before a payment reaches a bank.

“Our own (third quarter of 2025) Scamtracker, which charts APP scams reported by customers, found scams were up 7% quarter-on-quarter with £16.7 million stolen from Santander customers between July and September alone, with a sharp rise in advance-fee and job-offer scams, underlining that the threat continues to grow and evolve.

“The impact on those who are successfully targeted by these criminals can be devastating – not just financially, but emotionally. That’s why it’s so important to stop scams at source.”

Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi, director of policy and government relations at The Payments Association, said: “We have always said that just focusing on reimbursement was not a definitive solution.”

Vim Maru, CEO of Barclays UK, said: “Fraud is still the biggest crime this country faces, and it’s evolving fast. Arming consumers with information and tools to spot and stop scams is essential in order to keep them safe.

“However, we cannot underestimate the threat these criminals pose, and must act urgently to stop them at source. Collaboration across industries, with the Government leading the fight, is the best strategy to win against these fraudsters.”

Pat Hurley, ombudsman director at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “The Financial Ombudsman Service continues to receive hundreds of cases a week from people who have been victims of fraud and scams.

“We see from our casework how fraudsters can target victims online with adverts for ‘high-return’ investments, often linked to cryptocurrency. Victims may see fake endorsements from celebrities or engage with supposed ‘account managers’ who promise quick profits.

“Adverts on social media can be deceptive. If asked to transfer money for an investment check the firm is on the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority) register and consider seeking independent financial advice. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”