A record number of scams were reported to the UK’s fraud database in 2025, as criminals continue to take advantage of artificial intelligence.
Fraud prevention service Cifas warned nearly 445,000 reports were filed by its members last year, which included a quarter of a million incidents of identity theft, the most common type of fraud.
The number of cases shows a 6 per cent increase on 2024, and reveals how rapidly criminals are adapting their tactics to exploit technological, economic and behavioural changes, Cifas said.
Mike Haley, the agency’s chief executive, said: “Our data and intelligence show how fraud is being industrialised, with AI accelerating crime that is increasingly digital, organised and international.
“Fraud must be treated as a national enforcement priority. Closing the gap requires decisive action, robust disruption of criminal networks, and greater sharing of cross‑sector data and intelligence to stop fraud at the source.”
Facility takeover, when criminals use stolen data to hijack existing accounts, made up for 18 per cent of all reports.
Cifas said takeovers through mobile phones, online retail accounts and personal credit cards accounted for around 90 per cent of all takeovers.
Another 22,000 cases of money muling were recorded, where people allow criminals to use their bank accounts to transfer stolen funds.
Although identity fraud accounted for 54 per cent of all cases reported to the National Fraud Database in 2025, Cifas saw a 3 per cent decrease in these from 2024.
The biggest rises for identity fraud were seen in bank accounts, where the 63,000 cases reported represented a 10 per cent uplift, as well as insurance fraud, which rose 26 per cent with more than 16,000 cases.
The decline was due to a shift in tactics, rather than a reduction in crime, with criminals increasingly moving towards account takeover and using stolen or compromised personal details, Cifas said.
Nick Sharp, the deputy director of fraud at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: “Fraud now makes up 45 per cent of all crime in England and Wales, and we are all too aware of the devastating harm it causes to victims. This is why it is recognised as a National Security and Serious Organised Crime risk in the UK.
“The NCA is continuing to strengthen its leadership and response to the threat of fraud, with convictions by UK law enforcement up 27 per cent since 2022 and increasing examples of international engagement helping increase our ability to tackle the problem when it comes from overseas.”
Around one in 14 adults and one in 4 businesses have become victims of fraud in the UK, costing the economy more than £14 billion a year.
The Home Office and NCA announced on Monday that it was launching a new online crime squad to crackdown on fraud and “disrupt the gangs behind Britain’s most pervasive crime”.
With £250 million invested over the next 3 years, specialists from the government, police, intelligence agencies, banks, mobile networks, and major tech firms are hoping to shut down accounts, websites, and phone numbers that organised crime groups rely on.
Fraud minister Lord Hanson said: “Fraudsters are exploiting new technology, industrialising their operations and targeting the British public at scale.
“Our new fraud strategy sets out how we will use every tool at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle criminal operations, bring fraudsters to justice and strengthen protection and support for victims.”
