The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has indicated that there were approximately 3.6 million incidents of consumer and retail fraud in 2024, reflecting a 19% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
Among these incidents, around 2.7 million involved a loss of money or property, with 1.9 million cases resulting in full reimbursement. The overall rise from 3.3 million incidents in 2023 does not signify a statistically significant change; however, the trend in consumer and retail fraud remains noteworthy.
Data is sourced from police records and the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), covering the year ending June 2024. The ONS noted that police reports showed a slightly different trend, indicating an 11% increase in fraud incidents during the same timeframe. This rise is attributed to an uptick in offenses reported by UK Finance, which experienced a 22% increase, largely due to collaboration with member firms to enhance the flow of actionable intelligence to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.
Additionally, Action Fraud reported a 7% increase to the ONS during this period, while Cifas recorded a 1% decrease. This data follows a report by UK Finance on a decline in authorized push payment fraud in the first half of 2024, alongside a 26% increase in card-not-present cases.