Fraud and scam complaints hit 'highest ever' level, FOS finds

Ombudsman records 8,734 complaints about fraud and scams

Isabel Baxter
clock • 2 min read

Fraud and scam complaints are at their highest ever quarterly level, data released by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has revealed.

In the first quarter of this financial year (1 April – 30 June 2024), consumers lodged 8,734 complaints about fraud and scams, of which over half were in relation to customer approved online bank transfers, also known as authorised push payment (APP) scams. By comparison, the Ombudsman reported 6,094 fraud and scam complaints in the same period in 2023/24. The FOS said that the rise in cases is due to several factors, including: ·       Increasing numbers of multi-stage frauds which can see consumers put in multiple claims due to the number of firms involved. ·       A growth in...

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