Fraud Increases By 19% in the Year Ending September 2024

Chad Reimers, general manager of fraud & ID at TransUnion in the UK, comments on the recent Office for National Statistics’ Crime in England and Wales Statistics: 

"The latest Crime in England and Wales figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that fraud offences have increased by 19% (to 3.9 million offences) in the year ending September 2024. Notably, the increase of 26% in consumer and retail fraud since the previous report, ending June 2024, comes as TransUnion’s latest Q4 2024 Consumer pulse found that 43% of UK adults reported being targeted by online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months.  

“Over the past year, the fraud landscape has evolved, with social engineering, phone hacking, and data breaches creating fertile ground for bad actors. We know that fraud typologies are increasing in sophistication and complexity, particularly leveraging online marketplaces as an entry point. At the same time, firms are facing the challenge of greater costs to operate fraud prevention teams and reimburse consumers for fraud losses. It is therefore crucial that businesses and financial institutions continue to challenge the status quo of fraud prevention strategies and leverage complementary data, analytical, and technology capabilities to safeguard against new and emerging threats.  

“Despite the significant rise in fraud activity, particularly in the consumer space, it was also notable that the reporting of fraud has remained relatively flat. This may demonstrate the need for continued consumer awareness programmes, and consumers themselves to take action, such as through the monitoring of credit profiles”.