UK Business Leaders Say Fraud Cost Their Companies the Equivalent of 7.4% of Their Annual Revenue
● 69% of UK business leaders are very or extremely concerned about the impact of fraud, as they report their businesses lost the equivalent of 7.4% of their annual revenue in the last year
● Scams (23%) and synthetic identity fraud (23%) are now leading cause of losses according to the survey of UK business leaders
● Over a third (34%) of business leaders report using biometric authentication to tackle the issue, but adoption remains limited
UK business leaders reported their companies lost the equivalent of 7.4% of their annual revenue in the past year due to fraud, representing £88 billion of fraud losses for the 200 surveyed, according to a new report from global information and insights company TransUnion. Whilst reported fraud losses in the UK were slightly below the global average of 7.7%, it has accelerated sharply in the UK from 5.7% in 2024 to 7.4% this year.
With threats like AI scams and deepfakes becoming increasingly prevalent, TransUnion’s H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report reveals nearly seven in 10 (69%) UK business leaders are very or extremely concerned about the impact of fraud on their organisation – a sharp rise of 14 percentage points from 55% in 2024.
“Fraud is now one of the most significant and fast-changing risks to UK businesses,” said Chad Reimers, general manager of Fraud & ID at TransUnion in the UK. “As fraudsters exploit new technologies to create AI scams and deepfakes, and the fraud-as-a-service market burgeons, businesses can no longer rely on traditional detection methods alone. Organisations that invest in robust authentication, identity intelligence, and proactive fraud prevention are best positioned to stay ahead of rapidly evolving threats and to mitigate the significant losses they currently face.”
UK Faces Higher Risk of Synthetic Identity Fraud
Alongside scams (23%), synthetic identity fraud (23%), where personal data is combined to create a fabricated identity, are the leading causes of fraud losses in the UK according to the UK business leaders surveyed – above the global average of 20% for synthetic fraud. With the growing accessibility of stolen data and advances in generative AI, synthetic fraud is the biggest driver of fraud losses for telecommunications (31%), financial services (26%), and retail (36%) industries in the UK according to the surveyed business leaders.
Additionally, one in five (20%) business leaders said fraud losses are caused by account takeover, where fraudsters gain unauthorised access to online accounts, including banking, social media or email.
Advanced Fraud Detection Tools on the Rise
The UK is the only region globally to rank device reputation (54%), which detects suspicious or fraudulent behaviour across devices accessing the internet, as the most effective technology for preventing fraud. In all other regions surveyed, traditional identity verification was ranked the most effective technology.
To better assess risk in real time, advanced, data-driven fraud management strategies are on the rise. Half (50%) of UK business leaders said the most effective technology for preventing fraud is identity verification, while just under half said it’s IP intelligence (48%) and behavioural solutions (48%).
Biometric Authentication Growing, But Still Underused
The UK has traditionally been a leader in biometric authentication, with over a third (34%) of business leaders saying they use it as a primary method of authentication. Biometric authentication is the top primary customer authentication method and growing – up from 31% in 2024. Although liveness checks and deepfake detection can combat emerging fraud threats and synthetic identities, biometrics still appear to be underutilised by organisations.
Meanwhile, nearly two in five (39%) business leaders say they still rely on usernames and passwords as the primary method to authenticate customers to confirm user identity – above the global average of 34%. Username and password can easily be compromised and increase the risk of fraud. Interestingly while the use of social media credentials is declining, 8% of UK business leaders continue to rely on this method for primary authentication.
“Traditional fraud detection methods alone are no longer enough – in fact, they often can create risk,” continued Chad, “Alongside a more relaxed attitude toward first-party fraud, rising customer expectations for seamless experiences and regulatory changes, business leaders face a wave of challenges to mitigate the growing cost of fraud. By leveraging advanced, data-driven technologies, such as biometrics and device intelligence, businesses can reduce the risk of fraud loss and enhance the customer experience.”
To find out more about fraud trends in the UK, you can download the H2 2025 Update to the Top Fraud Trends Report here.
Notes:
This online survey was conducted in Canada (200 respondents), Hong Kong (200) India (200), and the Philippines (200), UK (200) and US (200) from May 29–June 6, 2025 by TransUnion in partnership with third-party research provider, Dynata.
The survey targeted managerial roles with responsibility for risk and/or fraud at businesses in which primary customer bases were consumers, and with a minimum annual revenue of CAD$300M in Canada, HK$200M in Hong Kong, 1B in India, 1B in the Philippines, £200M in the UK and USD$200M in the US.
