Fraud worth £820m was stopped in the first half of 2019, up 14% on the previous year, according to the latest figures from UK Finance.

The statistics represent the equivalent to £2 in every £3 of attempted fraud being stopped, or £4.5m of fraud being prevented a day.

The data includes all types of fraud, including banking offences like card and cheque fraud, but investment scams accounted for largest proportion of personal customer losses to authorised push payment fraud where a total of £208m was stolen, the figures revealed.

Push payment fraud is where a customer is tricked into authorising payments to accounts controlled by criminals.

Investment scams accounted for the largest proportion of losses amongst personal customers, with £41m lost to this type of fraud, or more than £12,200 per case.

Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Not only does fraud have a devastating impact on victims, the money stolen goes on to line the pockets of organised criminal gangs involved in drugs, arms and human trafficking.

“The finance industry is constantly investing in advanced security systems to protect customers from this threat, while helping law enforcement to apprehend and disrupt the criminals responsible.

“A new voluntary code was introduced in May that has significantly improved consumer protections from authorised push payment fraud, with signatory firms committed to reimbursing victims providing they have met certain standards.

“However, criminals are continuing to exploit vulnerabilities outside the financial sector to obtain customers’ data that is then used to commit fraud.

“We all have a responsibility to work together, including online retailers and social media companies, to beat the fraudsters and keep customers’ data secure.”

Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, said: “Financial fraud is unfortunately an ongoing threat so it’s important that people are alert to the danger.

“The sad fact is the fraudsters will try to exploit every opportunity to part people with their savings.

“It’s devastating to think that even a single interaction with a scammer could lead people to losing their hard-earned savings.
 
“It’s difficult to be definitive about the exact tactics scammers use as they’re constantly reinventing the approach they take to try and avoid detection.

“There’s also evidence of fraudsters coaching people with what to say to avoid arousing suspicion with the bank or pensions provider, so being vigilant is the best approach.”