UK victims lost £1.3bn in 2021 amid surge in online fraud, new data shows

UK Finance figures show a near-40% rise in push payment scams in which criminals pretend to be a trusted contact

More than 1.3bn was stolen by con artists last year, figures reveal, with authorised push payment fraud (APP), where victims are tricked into making a payment, rising sharply as pandemic restrictions eased.

The amount lost to APP fraud hit 583.2m in 2021, a 39% increase compared with 2020, according to the research from the banking industry organisation UK Finance.