Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

Banking fraud is on the advance in the UK

Q3 2022 saw the highest value of reported losses, accounting almost half (46 percent) of the losses of the previous 4 quarters.

The fraud conviction of Elizabeth Holmes is sending a chill through Silicon Valley. — © AFP
The fraud conviction of Elizabeth Holmes is sending a chill through Silicon Valley. — © AFP

Business insurance experts have indicated that, in the past year, the average losses for businesses to fraudsters was more than £2.1 billion within the U.K. Figures show a rise in the number of crimes for Q1 2023 compared to the previous quarter (although there was a drop of 54 percent in the value of money lost).

The data and the analysis comes from Money.co.uk, a business insurance group have released their first ‘Business Fraud Report’. The report uncovers how cybercrime against organisations is on the rise.

From the review, it is apparent that Q3 2022 saw the highest value of reported losses, accounting almost half (46 percent) of the losses of the previous 4 quarters put together.

The most common cases of fraud and cybercrime in the U.K. during last quarter (Q4 2022) compared with this current quarter (Q1 2023) are displayed below:

SectorQ1 2023 (#)Q1 2023 (£)Q4 2022 (#)Q4 2022 (£)
Banking Fraud1,974£41,600,0001884£213,400,000
Consumer Fraud1,601£26,800,0001485£19,800,000
Corporate Fraud775£24,300,000876£26,300,000
Cyber Dependent Crime589£818,300502£214,000
Public Sector Fraud198£3,300,000124£561,900
Investment Fraud118£9,700,00093£19,100,000
Advance Fee Fraud23£912,0008£49,600
Courier Fraud6£85,0003£0
Other5,126£39,000,000£40,000,000

As the table displays, banking fraud was the most common type of fraud, and represented the biggest value of losses for each of the last four quarters, accounting for over £833 million lost in total.

Banking fraud covers both unauthorised access to bank accounts (e.g. via hacking) or authorised fraud (where a victim with access to an organisation’s accounts is tricked into paying money to a criminal).

James Andrews, money.co.uk business insurance expert tells Digital Journal: “Fraud and cybercrimes cost businesses more than £2.1 billion in the past year. This is a reminder for organisations to invest in business insurance.”

Avatar photo
Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

You may also like:

Tech & Science

World leaders were set to hold formal talks in Paris on Tuesday on artificial intelligence (AI.

Tech & Science

A new free app is helping Canadians verify whether the products they buy are made in Canada.

Business

PayPal colleagues Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim conceived YouTube in 2005, reportedly during a dinner party.

Business

The feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman has become one of the bitterest rivalries in business history.