UK Finance's annual fraud report, published in November, revealed that total fraud losses across payment cards, remote banking, and authorised push payments exceeded £1.5 billion in 2024, a figure that underscores the scale of the challenge facing the financial sector. While card fraud remained the single largest category at £556 million, the fastest growth was in remote banking fraud, which rose 28 per cent as criminals increasingly targeted mobile and online banking channels. Social media platforms were identified as the origination point for 67 per cent of investment scam cases.

The report highlighted a notable shift in criminal methodology, with organised fraud groups moving away from high-volume, low-value attacks toward fewer but more carefully orchestrated schemes involving larger sums. Romance fraud losses averaged £12,400 per case, up from £9,800 the previous year, reflecting the time and effort criminals invest in building trust with victims. "Fraud has become an industrial-scale operation, and the criminals behind it are constantly innovating," said Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance. He called for social media companies to bear greater responsibility for the scams originating on their platforms.

The report's recommendations include mandatory scam warnings on social media advertisements for financial products, real-time data sharing between banks and telecommunications providers, and the extension of Confirmation of Payee to all payment service providers by the end of 2025. The government responded by reaffirming its commitment to the Online Safety Act's provisions on fraudulent advertising, though critics noted that enforcement mechanisms remain underdeveloped. The banking industry's collective investment in fraud prevention reached £750 million during the year, yet losses continue to outpace defences.