ONS Fraud Figures Remain Alarmingly High Post-Lockdown

Josh Gunnell, head of fraud & ID pre-sales at TransUnion in the UK, comments on the recent ONS fraud statistics:

“The latest quarterly figures from the Office for National Statistics confirm that digital fraud levels remain alarmingly high, meaning cyber threats will remain a real concern to businesses and consumers alike. Of particular alarm, is the 71% increase in remote banking fraud (to 94,180 incidents), which proves fraudsters remain unperturbed in their efforts to exploit the surge in new users of internet, telephone and mobile banking technology.

“Unfortunately, this uptick in digital fraud offences isn’t limited to the personal banking space. Rather, the latest data points to a 32% increase in any fraudulent activity compared with the year ending June 2019, including significant increases in consumer and retail fraud, advance fee fraud and other fraud.

“Scammers know people want to get great deals as we approach the festive period, so it creates a perfect storm at peak ecommerce periods to lure those looking to save. With consumers being ushered towards online retailers due to in-store stock shortages and pandemic-related restrictions, this figure could yet increase further, re-emphasising the need for us all to remain hyper vigilant when it comes to spotting the signs of criminal activity online.

“For businesses, this means tackling fraudster’s heightened levels of organisation and technological sophistication by being more proactive and predictive in their fight against fraud. Across all sectors, organisations need to continually review their prevention strategies, adopt data-driven insights and collaborate with each other to gain as much knowledge as possible.”