Fraud Increases By 33% in the Year Ending December 2024

Chad Reimers, general manager of fraud & identity 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 reveal that fraud continues to remain high, with offences having increased by 33% (to 4.1 million) in the year ending December 2024. The increase in consumer and retail fraud by 35% since the previous report, comes as TransUnion’s latest Q4 2024 Consumer pulse found that over two in five (43%) UK adults have been targeted by online, email, phone call or text messaging fraud attempts in the last three months.

“Over the past year, the fraud threat in the has UK continued to rise. The latest ONS statistics support recent TransUnion insight which shows an increase in identity risk and impersonation fraud, which is – in part - correlated with higher volumes of digital transactions. Given these trends, organisations are considering their most effective defences. In particular, we are observing a parallel shift to expanded use of data insights – including identity, digital, and device attributes and incorporating advanced technology solutions, such as biometrics and document verification.   As noted by the ONS, some of the increase in reported fraud is related to improved data-sharing, which should be viewed as a positive development – industry collaborating effectively is critical in developing effective fraud prevention responses. There may also be an element of consumers responding positively to heightened education measures and being more confident in reporting fraud incidents.

“What is clear, is that fraud will remain a threat to business and organisations. In this climate, it’s more important than ever for financial institutions to stay vigilant by investing in smarter, forward-looking strategies that can effectively detect and disrupt evolving fraud threats.”