Total value of UK fraud returns to pre-pandemic levels

Volume of cases has however fallen by 27 per cent from 298 in 2021 to 219 in 2022 according to the report that is the longest-running UK survey of its kind.

In 2021, the report revealed that total value from fraud was £444.7 million and in 2022 it had jumped to £1.12 billion.

The figure for 2022 is similar to pre-pandemic values that saw a total value of £1.1 billion for alleged fraud cases heard in 2019.

While volume of alleged fraud £100,000 or above decreased and total value increased, the value was largely driven by five cases with a value of £50 million or above that were heard in UK courts in 2022.

These cases amounted to a total value of £648 million, more than half the total value of all the fraud cases heard. This is a stark contrast to 2021 that saw no reported cases over the value of £50 million.

The Fraud Barometer also noted that a number of other reported cases, involving significant sums, were reportedly settled so do not appear within the figures but reinforced the trend that the value of alleged fraud is significantly up on prior periods.  

Fraud cases against financial institutions halved in 2022, with only 16 cases being heard compared to 32 in 2021. Despite this, the value of fraud committed against financial institutions in 2022 increased dramatically by 2,204 per cent to £609.2 million.

Roy Waligora, partner and head of UK investigations at KPMG, said in 2022, we saw the total value of fraud in the UK return to pre-pandemic levels as a few high-value cases boosted the numbers.

“This comes as professional criminals have continued to attempt to line their pockets with high value fraud against financial institutions and their customers,” he said.

“The slight drop in volume of fraud cases heard does not mean that fraud in the UK was any less prevalent in 2022. The impact of fraud remains a real concern in the UK, however, the decrease in the volume of cases may be an indication of pressure on authorities and that some fraud cases are not resulting in charges, as recently outlined by the National Audit Office.”

The general public remained the most targeted group by perpetrators of fraud by volume, although cases against them decreased by 22 per cent. In 2022, the general public was the victim in 73 cases with a total value of £136.9 million compared to 93 cases with a total value of just under £116 million in 2021.

These figures come as Action Fraud has been warning of criminals exploiting the cost-of-living crisis through scamming the general public.

“The Fraud Barometer only looks at reported cases heard with a value of £100k or above in UK courts, so the likelihood is that the general public have been the victims of many more frauds,” Mr Waligora said.

“As the cost-of-living hits households, we are likely to see a combination of two things happen.

“Firstly, we are likely to see opportunist fraudsters target the public through specific scams relating to the cost of living, such as a recent energy rebate scam. Secondly, there is likely to be an increase in frauds committed by more amateur criminals as people face financial difficulties. The public must stay vigilant, with the help of businesses, government and the police.”

Embezzlement has remained the most common fraud type for 2022, albeit with fewer cases than in 2021.

There were 36 cases of embezzlement with a value of £100,000 or above heard in UK courts in 2022, compared with 51 cases in 2021. However, the total value of these cases increased by 37 per cent to £38.9 million. This total value includes a case that saw an employee steal £6.7 million from company accounts.

“Embezzlement can be a big problem for businesses as employees and management look to exploit their positions,” Mr Waligora said.

“It is very important for businesses to have channels to report fraud and when businesses become suspicious about any fraudulent activity, that they act swiftly to uncover the facts so they can take decisive action against the individual or individuals. This is especially relevant as companies start to address the requirements of a Fraud Statement in their annual reports.”  

In 2022, UK courts only heard one less money laundering case than the prior year, but the total value of money laundering cases increased by 694 per cent from £68.2 million in 2021 to £541.7 million. This was bolstered by three cases with a value of £100 million or above.

Investment fraud also saw a large increase in value despite only six more cases being heard in 2022 than in 2021. In 2022, 19 cases were heard in UK courts amounting to a total value of £181.8 million compared to 13 cases in 2021 that had a combined value of £12.5 million, a 1,358 per cent increase in value.

The other key findings in the report include:

Of the 219 cases heard in 2022, 80 per cent of cases involved male perpetrators and 32 per cent were aged 36–45 years old.

Professional criminals were the main perpetrators, responsible for 92 cases of fraud and worth a total of £725.2 million. This is an increase in value from last year by 130 per cent.

Management was the second-largest group of perpetrators by volume, accounting for just over a quarter of cases in 2022.

Cases of advanced fee fraud, such as romance scams and services paid for but not delivered, increased from nine cases in 2021 to 19 cases in 2022, with the value almost tripling to £16 million.

Cash and equivalent instruments fraud such as credit/debit card and counterfeit currency cases doubled to 12 cases but saw a decrease in total value from £16.8 million in 2021 to £14.1 million as fraudsters carrying out this type of fraud focused on smaller values.

The London and South East Region still has the greatest proportion of the value of fraud: 56 per cent in the year 2021 and 53 per cent in the year 2022.