Revealed: The most common cases of credit card crime
Alipay’s app (QR code L) currently allows users to pay with a traditional credit card linked to their bank or offers small unsecured loans to buy anything from toilet paper to laptops – Copyright AFP/File GREG BAKER
A new report indicates that the main causes of fraud impacting the UK is credit card fraud. Moat of the activity is conducted online. However, beyond this headline there are different variations of credit card fraud and different complexities. To provide greater granularity, Uswitch credit card experts have released a review detailing the average losses people in the UK have incurred due to credit card fraud in the past three years.
In summary, the outcome is:
| Category of Fraud | Number of reports (Q4 2023) | Reported losses (millions) | Average loss per case | Number of reports (Q3 2023) | Reported losses (millions) | Average loss per case | Number of reports (Q4 2022) | Reported losses (millions) |
| Advance Fee | 10711 | £25.6 | £2,390 | 11149 | £30.3 | £2,718 | 9634 | £27.1 |
| Banking | 8385 | £55.3 | £6,595 | 8907 | £76.1 | £8,544 | 7972 | £289.3 |
| Consumer | 30821 | £88.1 | £2,858 | 35745 | £107.5 | £3,007 | 30886 | £160.2 |
| Corporate | 1277 | £14.4 | £11,276 | 1500 | £18.1 | £12,067 | 1482 | £31.7 |
| Courier | 321 | £4.2 | £13,084 | 315 | £3.2 | £10,159 | 284 | £2.4 |
| Cyber Dependent Crime | 11066 | £1.1 | £99 | 10489 | £1.6 | £153 | 6030 | £1.3 |
| Investment | 7181 | £112.4 | £15,652 | 7076 | £141.4 | £19,983 | 5564 | £251.1 |
| Other | 22820 | £119.6 | £5,241 | 22622 | £137.1 | £6,060 | 22777 | £153.1 |
| Public Sector | 157 | £0.6 | £3,505 | 225 | £64.4 | £286,222 | 180 | £1.3 |
In terms of demographics, those aged 30-39 were targeted the most by fraud and cybercrimes in Q4 of 2023, with those aged 20-29 not far behind. Individuals younger than 70 were most commonly victims of online shopping and auctions fraud (excluding uncategorised crimes).
Older age groups more commonly experienced crimes in the categories of computer software service fraud, advance fee fraud, cheque/card fraud, and door to door sales fraud.
Computer software service fraud involves criminals posing as legitimate software companies, such as Microsoft, calling you to tell you there’s a problem with your computer in order to gain access to your private information or hold you to ransom and commit fraud. Advance fee fraud is when fraudsters target victims to make advance or upfront payments for goods, services and/or financial gains that do not materialise.
The report also looked into police force figures to understand which parts of the UK have experienced a significant change in fraud figures. This found, in the last quarter of 2023, Bedfordshire saw the biggest rise in the number of reported crimes for a mainland UK police force – figures rose by almost 25 percent – with the total value of losses reaching nearing £4 million. City of London and Police Scotland were the only other forces that saw increases in Q4 (9 percent and 6 percent respectively) with all other forces seeing a decrease from Q3 to Q4.
Revealed: The most common cases of credit card crime
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