UK fraud hits a record as AI-enabled scams surge

In 2025, fraud reports in England and Wales reached a record high, with nearly 445,000 filings and about 250,000 identity-theft incidents—the most common form of fraud. The surge comes as criminals increasingly use artificial intelligence to carry out digital, organised, and international schemes. Fraud now makes up 45% of all crime in England and Wales, underscoring the scale of the challenge.

Takeovers accounted for 18% of all reports, defined as criminals hijacking an existing account using stolen data. Around 90% of these offences involved mobile phones, online retail accounts, or personal credit cards. Money muling—where people allow criminals to use their bank accounts to transfer stolen funds—was recorded in about 22,000 cases.

Identity fraud remained the largest category, at 54% of all cases, but the number fell by about 3% from 2024. The toughest growth was in bank-account identity fraud (63,000 cases, up 10%) and in insurance fraud (more than 16,000 cases, up 26%). The dip in overall identity fraud reflects a shift in tactics toward account takeovers and stolen-data fraud rather than a pure drop in crime.

Criminals are increasingly exploiting AI tools to scale attacks, targeting mobile, banking, and e-commerce accounts. The report calls fraud a national enforcement priority and urges robust disruption of criminal networks and greater sharing of cross-sector data and intelligence to stop fraud at the source.

Public awareness and stronger cybersecurity practices are essential as the threat grows.

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