Losses from investment scams jumped by 34% to £144.4 million in 2024, new figures from UK Finance have revealed.
The UK Finance Annual Fraud report found £1.17 billion was lost overall to fraud in 2024, with 3.31 million confirmed cases, up 12% on 2023 figures.
While cases of investment scams fell by nearly a quarter to 7,767 in 2024, there was a sharp 34% increase in losses; the first recorded rise since 2021.
The report showed investment scams accounted for nearly a third of authorised push payment losses last year, with scams linked to cryptocurrencies on the rise.
An investment scam involves a criminal convincing their victim to move their money to a fictitious fund or to pay for a fake investment. The criminal will usually promise a high return to entice their victim into making the transfer.
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Crypto and other investment fraud is on the march, as fraudsters see the opportunity to fleece their victims of thousands of pounds. The criminals are using increasingly sophisticated approaches, including the emergence of deepfakes.”
Coles urged people to keep an eye out for signs of a scam.
“If you’re approached out of the blue by someone offering you an investment, it should ring alarm bells. If you are put under pressure or told to keep quiet about an investment, that’s a surefire sign of a scam. Be alert to things that seem too good to be true. If someone says they have the secret of investment, or are offering sky-high returns without risk, these are both huge warning signs,” she added.
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