UK Sees Record 444,000 Fraud Cases Amid AI-Driven Scams

The UK's leading anti-fraud body, Cifas, has warned that criminals are using artificial intelligence tools to take over people's mobile, banking, and online shopping accounts.

Last year, a record number of scams were reported to the national fraud database, with 444,000 cases of fraud reported by its members. This represents a 6% increase from the previous year.

Most of the account takeover scams reported last year were for mobiles, online shopping, and personal credit cards. Cifas chief executive Mike Haley said that fraud is becoming increasingly advanced and organised, operating seamlessly across borders.

Criminals often sell kits that enable others to commit the crime, while fake profiles are now able to be produced on a large scale. Haley added that online fraud will become ever more sophisticated, supercharged by AI-powered impersonation, synthetic media, and accessible fraud-as-a-service tools.

There has been a sharp rise in attempted sim-swap fraud, where criminals try to trick a mobile phone provider into transferring a number to a sim in their possession. Most of the scams reported to Cifas were identity fraud, where data is stolen to impersonate a victim to open new accounts and make purchases.

A survey by Barclays found that consumers lack confidence in spotting AI-enabled scams, with just 36% saying they can do so.