How Britain tried (and failed) to stop a £10 billion crimewave
Fraud has become Britain's most common crime, with official figures confirming 3.3 million cases in 2024 and at least £10 billion stolen over the past decade. Yet despite these staggering numbers, fewer than one in ten cases reported to police result in investigation, and only 8.9% of those lead to any form of justice. The failure of Britain's fraud reporting system has become so acute that authorities were forced to scrap Action Fraud in December after an undercover investigation by The Times revealed staff routinely dismissed victims as "morons".
Background and Context
The scale of Britain's fraud epidemic is difficult to overstate. According to analysis by Times Money, the UK has lost almost £10 billion to scammers since 2015—enough to fund police in England and Wales for seven months. The National Crime Agency estimates that only 14% of fraud cases are ever reported to authorities, suggesting the true scale could be far greater. Action Fraud, the national reporting centre established in 2009, became emblematic of systemic failure. Despite its authoritative name, it was merely a recording service, not an investigative body.
Key Figures and Entities
The response to Britain's fraud crisis involves multiple actors across government and law enforcement. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans for a National Police Service—effectively a "British FBI"—that would absorb fraud investigation responsibilities alongside other serious crimes. The government also appointed Lord Hanson of Flint as fraud minister in 2024. The City of London Police, which oversees Report Fraud, is led by Commissioner Pete O'Doherty, while Chief Superintendent Amanda Wolf heads the new reporting service. Meanwhile, UK Finance, representing the banking industry, argues that current reimbursement schemes fail to address root causes.
Legal and Financial Mechanisms
The financial mechanics of fraud reimbursement have evolved significantly since October 2024, when victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud gained the right to claim back up to £85,000. The cost of these refunds is split between the sending and receiving financial institutions. According to UK Finance, 88% of the £173 million lost to APP scams in the year to October was refunded—up from 65% the previous year. However, this success story is complicated by fraud displacement: while APP losses have fallen 22% since their 2021 peak of £580 million, other scam types, particularly report purchase fraud, have increased as criminals adapt their methods.
International Implications and Policy Response
Britain's fraud problem cannot be solved through domestic policing alone. Professor Anja Shortland of King's College London notes that many scammers operate from outside the UK, beyond the reach of British law enforcement. This transnational dimension is evident in "scam factories" where trafficked workers are forced to target citizens of wealthy countries under threat of violence. The banking industry, meanwhile, argues that online platforms where scams proliferate should bear greater responsibility rather than financial institutions that are left "picking up the tab." Virgin Media O2 reported blocking more than 600 million scam texts in just eleven months of 2024—over 1,300 per minute—demonstrating the relentless nature of modern fraud attacks.
Sources
This report draws on investigations by The Times, data from the National Crime Agency, official statements from the City of London Police, and reports from UK Finance. Additional context was provided by academic research from King's College London and industry figures from Virgin Media O2, with statistics covering the period from 2015 to 2024.
