Unmasking how fraudsters target UK consumers in the digital age

Authorised push payment (APP) scams happen when a scammer tricks someone into sending a payment to an account outside of their control. APP scams remain a huge source of concern with millions of pounds being lost each year and a devastating impact left on victims.

Preventing authorised push payment (APP) scams is one of our top priorities. APP scams cause immense suffering and harm to consumers and society, damage confidence in payments and lead to permanent loss of trust in institutions.

Our research shows (PSR APP Fraud Survey 2024) that victims’ confidence in making payments drops after being a victim of an APP scam. A third say they have also lost confidence in using new payment methods. The need for action is clear, and we have taken decisive action to prevent APP scams across the payments industry.

We want to do more to stop scams occurring in the first place, and this means working with other sectors as well as the payments industry. To make significant inroads to prevent APP scams, all ecosystem actors need to take action to prevent fraudsters contacting victims and earning their trust.

For this reason, we used our powers to require the 14 largest banking groups in Great Britain and Northern Ireland to give us data on which platforms are most commonly reported as being exploited by fraudsters to make contact with victims, which later result in an APP scam, across different scam types. 

Our latest report shines a light on what we found, and key highlights include: 

• Fraudsters target major platforms to commit scams: Social media, technology platforms, and telecoms are frequently exploited by scammers, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of pounds for UK consumers. 
• Over half of scams involve Meta platforms: In 2023, Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) were linked to 54% of scam incidents (119,338 cases) and 18% of total losses (£62.7 million). That’s roughly £1 in every £5 lost in scams. 
• Telecoms and emails cause significant losses: Fraudulent calls and texts via telecoms were used in 12% of scam cases (26,975) but accounted for 31.5% of the losses (£107.2 million). Emails, while only involved in 2% of scams, led to disproportionately high losses of £35 million (10% of the total). 
• Romance scams are more common on Meta platforms: Meta platforms were used in more romance scams (31%) than all dating websites combined. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp together accounted for 1,590 incidents and £5.1 million in losses. 
• Purchase scams dominate on Facebook: The most common scams in 2023 were purchase scams, where victims buy items that never arrive. Facebook was used in 44% of these cases (67,337 incidents), with losses of £19.5 million—more than any other platform. While eBay saw fewer scams (1.6% of cases), the losses per scam were significant, totalling £6.7 million. 
• Investment scams cause the biggest losses: Investment scams made up 23% of total losses (£80.3 million) but only 6% of scams (12,500 incidents). Fraudsters often used telecoms (£18.4 million in losses), Meta platforms (£11.6 million), and even friends and family connections (£9.6 million) to deceive victims. 

While progress is being made, APP scams remain a serious issue. Greater data sharing and collaboration across industries is essential to stop scams earlier in their lifecycle. Tackling these scams at the source will reduce harm and result in better outcomes for consumers. 

The PSR is calling on technology, telecoms, and social media platforms to work with payment firms to close down vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit.