UK Victims Lose £56.4m to Investment Scams in First Half of 2024

UK Finance has released the Half Year Fraud Report in H1 2024, indicating the declining loss of investment scams.

According to the results, 3,647 cases of investment scam occurred in the first half of this year, down 29% YoY. These cases involved 12,959 payments, decreasing 24%. Despite the drop in the number of cases and payments, this kind of scam still cost victims £56.4 million, down only 1%.

Compared to other types of APP fraud, investment scam still tops the list in terms of case value, accounting for 26% of the total, even though it only accounts for 4% of the total number of cases.

In investment scams, criminals lure victims to pay for fake funds and investment schemes. The scammers often come unsolicited and dial the phone number of a potential victim. They recommend investment programs to victims and promised high profits, while claiming that the opportunity is time limited. And the victims are required to make an investment decision quickly.

In addition, the number of pig-butchering scams also fell from 2,120 in the same period last year to 1,963, a decrease of 7%. In the first half of this year, Britons lost £14.5 million to pig-butchering scams, down 21% YoY. However, the number of payments associated with this scam increased by 12% to 21,110.

The UK has been taking actions in recent years to reduce the risk and losses to people from authorized payment fraud. Since October 7, the UK has been implementing new APP fraud reimbursement regulation to provide more protection for APP scam victims.

In addition, banks in the UK have the right to suspend fraudulent-suspected transactions for up to four days.

As the majority of fraud cases come from communication networks or occur on social media platforms, UK Finance has also called for cooperation between the social media, technology and communications industries.