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Fraud cases in England and Wales surged by more than 1 million last year, new figures reveal, with some victims losing tens of thousands of pounds to scammers.
Over 2024, there was a 33 per cent rise in fraud incidents compared to the previous year, rising from an estimated 3 million cases to 4.1 million, according to new data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).
Fraud can take many different and increasingly sophisticated forms in the digital age - with one man losing £75,000 through a complex scam involving AI, cryptocurrency and two famous figures.
“It just takes over your life. It destroys everything,” Des Healey, a scam victim who is still in debt, told the Independent.
Last year had highest number of fraud incidents on record since the data was first collected in 2017, meaning 7 per cent of adults were targeted by a scam.
“This huge rise underlines the simple fact that not enough is being done to prevent fraud or bring criminals to justice,” said Wayne Stevens, national fraud lead at charity Victim Support.
“Being a victim of fraud can unravel your entire life. We have supported people who have lost life changing amounts of money – forcing them to sell treasured possessions, or in extreme cases, into bankruptcy or homelessness.”
Three in four fraud cases lose money
Fraud is defined as “a person dishonestly and deliberately deceiving a victim for personal gain of property or money, or causing loss or risk of loss to another”.
More than £649 million was lost to investment fraud alone last year, ActionFraud figures show.
As a little-understood investment, cryptocurrencies are touted in two thirds of all cases.
Des Healey, a 60-year-old from Brighton, was one such victim.
In August 2023, Mr Healey saw a video on Facebook which featured tech billionaire Elon Musk and money guru Martin Lewis praising a new bitcoin investment scheme.
He did not know at the time, but the video had been manipulated using AI, to falsely show endorsement from Mr Musk and Mr Lewis.
Intrigued, Mr Healey responded to the ad with some personal details: his name, phone, and number. There was no money exchanged - yet.
That was all it took. From that point on, Des communicated with a man calling himself “Carl Heinz”, who promised him lucrative investments if he continued to send money.
“I'll be totally honest with you, when all this started, I thought I was going to get a couple of hundred quid for Christmas. And then this guy is talking about thousands, but I have to invest now,” said Mr Healey.
The scammer told Mr Healey to download a remote access app - meaning that his phone screen and control would be shared - in addition to Revolut and Binance, which was used to funnel money.
Mr Healey was sent simulated websites showing his investments rising, gaining more and more money; though he wasn’t allowed to withdraw.
“They put you under a spell. They take over your life. They use human emotions, like guilt, trust and friendship,” he said.
After an initial £5,000 and further £10,000 of his own money, Mr Healey was pressured into taking out loans totalling £70,000 from four different banks.
When his son flagged concern, he eventually went to the police and realised he had been conned.
In their last call, Mr “Heinz” tried to manipulate Mr Healey into giving him access to clear out his accounts -- before lashing out when he realised it was over.
“That’s when I finally heard the real person,” said Mr Healey, who previously believed he had a friendship with Mr Heinz.
In the year and a half that has followed, two banks (MBNA and Barclays) have forgiven the loans taken out in his name, of which he says he “did not see a cent”.
But he still owes £10,000 plus interest each to Asda/Lendable and Vanquish, both of whom hold him responsible for the credit even though he was scammed.
Now, Mr Healey says his debt is at £27,000, which he cannot pay, and he is on the brink of bankruptcy.
“They’re just about to send bailiffs around my house. It's obviously hit my credit rating. I've been to my GP suffering from stress. I'm on antidepressants,” he added.
Since appearing on national news and a podcast with Martin Lewis himself, people have reached out to Mr Healey, sharing that they experienced the same (or similar) scam; including a young mother who lost £150,000.
Mr Healey was victim to what is known as Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams, a type of fraud where people are tricked or manipulated into sending money.
New UK regulation introduced in October means that APP scam victims using mobile banking can expect reimbursement up to £85,000 as standard.
But since Mr Healey lost money a year earlier, his case isn’t covered.
What do the numbers say on fraud?
In most cases of fraud, people lose money (75 per cent).
Around two thirds of victims managed to fully recover their money last year, according to the crime survey; but this still leaves nearly one million (909,000) incidents where victims lost out.
The most common instance is bank and credit account fraud, making up around 2.4 million incidents in the last year alone.
This can include fraudulent use of your bank details to take out money or make online purchases, or even using your name to open new accounts.
Card fraud continues to rise despite efforts from banks and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to increase awareness and warnings around fraud.
Consumer and retail fraud has also seen the biggest increase, rising by 35 per cent last year to 1.1 million incidents.
This largely includes product-related fraud, where consumers are duped into buying something or receive a fraudulent product.
One example is falling for misleading advertising, and paying for something which doesn’t fulfil its promises.
Oasis fans have recently lost over £2 million to ticket scams, new research today from Lloyds Bank shows; as fraudsters target areas where buyers are desperate due to high demand.
Another is counterfeit goods, where people might unknowingly buy a fake product from a third-party retailer but pay full price.
In other cases, people buy goods online which never show up.
Fraud in the digital age
These days, most (but not all) cases of bank or credit fraud see full reimbursement, where there is evidence of card details being used without authorisation.
Victims of consumer fraud are less likely to get their money back; with 52 per cent of them only recovering a fraction of losses, or none at all.
Consumer fraud often takes place through online marketplaces or third-party transactions.
Tracking the end bank account or cryptowallet to find a responsible party is increasingly difficult.
Some further 149,000 Brits were victims of computer viruses last year, the crime survey also estimates; and of those who lost money, none were able to fully recover their losses.
“If you’re on your computer and you happened to click on a piece of malware which infects your computer, who’s your reimbursement going to come from?” said Nick Stripe, head of crime statistics at the ONS.
“There’s not really a route to reimburse whatever damage has been done there. Unless you’ve got good a good cyber insurance policy in place, which is unlikely for private individuals.”
The wealth of personal information available on social media also makes it easier for scammers to appear more authentic; for example, checking in on your birthday, or impersonating friends and family using public photos or details.
Previous crime survey data shows that just 1 in 7 fraud offences are reported to the police or Action Fraud.
“Sadly, there is a lot of shame and stigma associated with fraud, and it is vital that victims do not blame themselves,” explained Mr Stevens from Victim Support.
“Victims can struggle with their mental health, sometimes becoming too afraid to leave their home or go online. If you have been impacted, contact Victim Support for free, confidential support.”
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