12 per cent of UK consumers have been a victim of payments fraud in the past four years, new research shows.

A study from global payments business ACI Worldwide found that online fraud and digital wallet hacks account for around 20 per cent of fraud cases in the UK.

It shows that the number of people falling victim to confidence tricks has jumped to nearly 13 per cent of fraud cases.

"As more consumers rely on digital and real-time payments, fraudsters are increasingly targeting the online space to steal sensitive information and top up any missing pieces by impersonating well-known organisations such as banks or government bodies,” said Jackie Barwell, director, fraud product management, ACI Worldwide. “The advent of Open Banking and decentralised financial services offers additional room for the problem to grow.”

The report reveals that new kinds of fraud, like digital account hacking, social engineering, and identity theft, are becoming increasingly common.

Research from UK Finance found that British fraud victims lost £1.3 billion in 2021 as online fraud increased, with authorised push payment (APP) scams increasing by nearly 40 per cent.

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