Shocking new figures reveal £420bn worth of black market fraud

Across 15 countries, more than a fifth (21%) of respondents said they had fallen victim, with £168 billion falling into the hands of fraudsters. Taking into account the wider social costs – such as lost productivity due to the impact of fraud – the fifteen economies suffered £420 billion in damage.

In Britain, the SMF estimated that ten million Britons will have fallen victim to fraud between 2021 and 2023, costing the wider economy around £16 billion.

The average loss for Brits was £907, with a third (33%) reporting a negative emotional impact and 18% an impact on their finances.

The researchers say international coordination in anti-fraud is now desperately needed due to the ability of criminals to operate across international borders, while individual countries’ police forces are limited by geography and the costs of navigating international arrangements.

Although Labor’s manifesto promised a focus on fraud, plans for international cooperation have yet to emerge, which experts say is at odds with other forms of economic crime.

Britain urged to wage cross-border war against £420 billion ‘fraud scam’ sweeping the world

One in five adults has fallen victim to fraudsters in the past three years, according to a landmark global report that surveyed 28,000 people in 15 countries.

And in Britain alone, more than 10 million people have been affected by fraud in the last three years, losing an average of more than £900 each.

The catastrophic losses should now prompt the UK government to take the lead in forging a new international deal to crack down on the criminal gangs behind a tidal wave of fraud, the Social Market Foundation-commissioned report shows from Santander UK.

The cross-party think tank has released the first of its kind ‘Fraud Threat Prevalence Report’ to highlight the enormous threat posed by global fraudsters who no longer need to rob banks as they can steal people’s accounts from the comfort of their homes to attack. own bank anywhere in the world.

They say a comprehensive international agreement is needed, including a commitment to prioritize and invest more resources in tackling fraud, while setting up an interdepartmental Economic Crime Leadership Group.

Richard Hyde of the Social Market Foundation said: “It’s not just Britain that is under siege by fraudsters – both developed and developing countries face huge fraud challenges.

“Any nation acting alone remains ill-equipped to tackle today’s fraudsters, who can operate from anywhere and claim a victim thousands of miles away. To address this challenge, governments around the world must coordinate and implement strong anti-fraud measures at home; This creates the best platform from which the world can tackle cross-border fraud. We believe Britain can and must facilitate and lead that global movement.”

Stephen White, Chief Operating Officer at Santander UK, added: “The report highlights the sheer scale of fraud we are seeing. Despite the efforts of banks and policymakers, the criminal gangs behind fraud enrich themselves to the tune of billions and cost the global economy hundreds of billions. Fraud has become a global phenomenon and therefore requires global, collective action. Britain is well placed to lead this charge, but we need renewed focus on tackling the fraud in government, banks and the global technology and communications companies that link criminals to potential victims.”