£177m lost to impersonation scams in 2022

To compound this issue, research from the trade body’s Take Five campaign found that only 51% of people always check if a request for either money or personal information is legitimate before responding. Additionally, 21% of people who had responded to communication from a range of organisations – including banks, energy firms and the police – said they later believed they were fraudulent.  

Of all the age groups, the research found younger people were particularly at risk with just 38% of those aged between 18 and 34 saying they always check to see if a request for their money or information is genuine, while 39% said they believed they had been contacted by a criminal after they had responded to an initial request for information from what they thought was a trusted organisation.  

UK Finance’s managing director of economic crime Katy Worobec said: “We receive genuine communication from trusted organisations on a daily basis, meaning it’s not always easy for us to spot when an approach for information is in fact from a criminal. 

“Anyone can be caught out by a scam in the heat of the moment and criminals are constantly adapting their tactics to appear legitimate. It has never been more important to take steps to check for genuine communication and follow the advice of the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign and to stop, challenge and protect.”