Authorised push payment fraud — where victims are tricked into sending money themselves — is growing again in the UK. According to UK Finance’s 2026 Annual Fraud Report, losses rose 19% in 2025 while the number of cases grew just 7%.
The gap is the story. When losses grow almost three times faster than cases, each scam is extracting more money. Investment and romance scams, which unfold over weeks and involve repeated transfers, are typically behind that shift.
Reimbursement changes the economics. Since October 2024, UK payment firms must reimburse most APP victims, splitting the cost between sending and receiving banks. That means every pound lost is now increasingly a pound the banking system pays back.
Why criminals are scaling up
Generative AI has cut the cost of producing convincing messages, fake websites and even cloned voices. Scams that once needed a call centre now need a laptop and a script.
Each scam is taking more money — the fight is shifting from volume to value.
Fraud Watcher analysis
What banks are doing. Expect more friction on high-value first-time payments: confirmation-of-payee warnings, payment holds and outbound calls. For customers, a delayed transfer is increasingly a sign the system is working.
What to watch
- Whether losses fall as reimbursement incentives push banks to block more payments.
- The FCA taking over oversight of the reimbursement regime.
- Growth in international scams that sit outside the UK rules.
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