Five million people had money stolen from their accounts in 2017

More than GBP 2 billion has been stolen from about one in 10 British adults and online payments are the weakest link. More than a quarter of frauds occurred online in 2017 and 27% of victims don’t know or remember how they were hacked.

The level of cyber fraud in the UK has fallen over the past 12 months, but the amount of money stolen has increased. More than half of fraud victims have had money stolen in the last year, compared with the 5.5 million people who were victims of fraud between May 2016 and May 2017.

The figures come after 95 arrests were made across Europe earlier this summer following a joint law enforcement operation targeting online fraudsters. The suspects arrested during the operation are believed to be responsible for more than 20,000 fraudulent transactions using compromised credit cards, with an estimated value exceeding GBP 7 million.

In the UK, concerns are growing among consumers over pre-populated debit or credit card details that many people use to make online purchases. A third of consumers’ credit or debit card details are saved using web browsing “auto-fill” technology, and more than half are concerned about the safety of this technology.

However, there is evidence that British people are beginning to change their behaviours as a result of worrying and growing levels of fraud. Most consumers are now more likely to check their bank and credit card accounts regularly, and to have different passwords and pins for their various accounts, and most now won’t give out their bank details over the phone.