Criminals stole £1.28bn through payment fraud in 2025, an increase of 4%, according to banking body UK Finance, with investment fraud accounting for £222m of losses, up 40% year on year.
Its Annual Fraud Report revealed that most authorised push payment (APP) fraud cases still start online (66%).
APP fraud losses rose sharply to £576.4m (up 19%) and there were 248,070 cases recorded (up 7%).
UK Finance said there were £500.8m in personal losses and £75.6m in business losses to APP fraud last year, with purchase scams accounting for 71% of all cases, with losses rising 20% to £118.1m.
Investment fraud accounted for the highest proportion of losses at £221.5m, up 40% year-on-year and case numbers increased 26% to 14,893.
Romance fraud losses increased 23% to £39.2m and case numbers were up 22%.
Impersonation fraud, where criminals pose as a bank, the police or an organisation and convince victims to transfer money to a “safe account”, fell again in 2025, with losses down 12% and case numbers down 11%.
The increase in APP fraud reflects the growing scale and sophistication of scams that manipulate people into transferring money for goods, services or opportunities that never materialise, said UK Finance.
A smaller number of APP fraud cases, 17%, start through telecommunication networks.
UK Finance said it was time for stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on companies in the two sectors.
It called on Ofcom to place stronger and proactive fraud prevention obligations on high-risk platforms. It said such a move would help address investment fraud, which often starts through fraudulent advertising on social media.
It said online marketplaces should be required to verify their sellers and use secure payment mechanisms rather than allowing separate bank transfers to take place off the platform. The organisation said that would address purchase fraud, which often starts on marketplace sites.
It also said firms in the tech and telecommunications sectors should be required to contribute financially, as well as sharing expertise, intelligence and capabilities to support proactive fraud prevention.
Ruth Ray, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Fraud operates on an industrial scale, harming people, businesses and the UK economy, typically funding serious and organised crime in the UK and globally.
"The financial sector invests huge amounts in protecting customers, but we cannot be the only line of defence. Almost £1.3bn was stolen again last year and it is clear we are not tackling the underlying problem effectively enough.
"Given most APP fraud still starts via online tech platforms or via telecoms, we urgently need stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on these sectors. This is the way to reduce the harm and stop criminals and tech companies profiting from these devastating crimes."