Uswitch credit card experts have released a fraud report, detailing the average losses people in the UK have incurred due to credit card fraud, banking fraud and more in the past three years.
The report revealed that people lost on average £1,212 million to credit card fraud in 2022 (latest data available for credit card fraud specifically, a decrease of 5 percent from the previous year). Furthermore, consumers lost £422 million last quarter to fraudsters overall. These data is based on police figures and the UK finance report (from 92,739 reported cases of fraud).
Over three quarters (76 percent) of the reported fraud was credit card fraud. Data suggests £26.1 million was lost through fraudulent ATM withdrawals. The country where fraud on UK credit cards originates is from the Republic of Ireland, followed by the U.S.
2022 Credit Card Fraud figures
| Fraud type | Total losses in 2022 (millions) | Year on year change from 2021 | Total number of cases in 2022 | Year on year change from 2021 |
| Payment Cards | £556.3 | 6% | 2,732,894 | -3% |
| Remote Banking | £163.1 | -18% | 47,473 | -46% |
| Cheque | £7.5 | 0.18 | 966 | 19% |
| Total Unauthorised Fraud | £726.9 | 0% | 2,781,333 | -5% |
| Authorised Fraud | £485.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total Fraud | £1,212.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Payment Card Fraud as a % of Total Fraud | 76.5% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Payment Card Fraud as a % of Total Fraud | 45.9% | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Salman Haqqi, Uswitch credit cards expert tells Digital Journal: “Cybercrime has inflicted nearly £2.5 billion in losses on Britons over the past year, highlighting the importance of safeguarding our online data and exercising heightened caution during digital transactions.”
Haqqi adds: “Using a credit card for online purchases provides an added layer of security. With purchases ranging from £100 to £30,000, even partial payment using a credit card entitles consumers to enhanced protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. This provision enables reimbursement from the credit card issuer if the vendor becomes unresponsive or disputes arise.”
In terms of the measures that people can take to reduce the risk are maintaining up-to-date antivirus software across their devices — be it computers, phones, or tablets.
