Half a billion stolen in fraud and scams in H1 2018

Finance industry working to stop fraud

Hannah Godfrey
clock • 2 min read

A total of £503.4m was stolen by criminals through authorised and unauthorised fraud in the first six months of 2018, data from UK Finance has shown.

The data found a total of £145.5m was lost due to authorised push payment (APP) scams between January and June 2018 across 34,128 cases in the first half of 2018. Of those, purchase scams were the most prevalent, accounting for almost two thirds of reported cases, with some £19.4m lost.  In APP scams, the victim pays in advance for a product or service, such as a car, electronics, or a holiday rental, which is never received or does not exist. APP scams often take place online, through auction websites or social media. If a customer authorises the payment themselves, current legisl...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Your profession

The five-minute complaint and the five-day investigation

The five-minute complaint and the five-day investigation

GSI Group CEO on complaints, AI and the latest set of FOS reforms

Mark Buck
clock 12 August 2026 • 5 min read
Andrew Goodwin: The advice gap - an embarrassment of riches?

Andrew Goodwin: The advice gap - an embarrassment of riches?

Andrew Goodwin: The advice gap - an embarrassment of riches?

Andrew Goodwin
clock 12 August 2026 • 4 min read
New Talent Alliance launches financial advice careers guide

New Talent Alliance launches financial advice careers guide

Designed to attract new entrants into the profession

Sophia Panayi
clock 11 August 2026 • 2 min read