According to the Korea International Trade Association, the number of cases of people losing money due to being deceived by fraudsters through purchase fraud and dating fraud increased sharply last year.
UK Finance said record amounts of money were lost to purchase fraud last year. People were tricked into paying for goods that never materialized.
It also warned that people planning to attend events such as the Olympics or a Taylor Swift concert could be targeted by scammers this year.
Around 156,000 cases of purchase fraud were recorded, with total losses reaching £85.9 million, the highest loss and case total ever recorded by the body representing the banking and finance industry.
Purchase fraud accounts for nearly two-thirds (67%) of authorized push payments (APPs), which trick someone into transferring money to a scammer.
In purchase fraud, victims pay in advance for goods or services they never receive, often ordering from online platforms such as auction websites or social media.
Lloyds Bank estimates that more than £1 million may already have been lost in the UK to scammers pretending to offer tickets to Taylor Swift concerts, based on analysis of its own recent fraud reports.
Asked about incidents that could be exploited by fraudsters, Ben Donaldson, UK Finance's managing director of economic crime, told reporters: “Every year we see the cycle of fraud changing throughout the year…
“I think the Olympics and Taylor Swift are probably the two biggest events of the year.”
A report from UK Finance said: “Purchasing scams are supposedly only associated with high-volume, low-cost scams that are ‘too good to be true.’”
However, UK Finance said data from members of the Voluntary Repayment Code shows “around 9% of cases and two-thirds of losses relate to purchases exceeding £1,000”.
Last year, the total number of APP cases was 232,429, an annual increase of 12%.
APP fraud losses totaled £459.7 million, down 5% compared to the previous year. This consisted of personal losses of £376.4 million and business losses of £83.3 million.
UK Finance's record of app fraud dates back to 2020.
Romance scams, where victims are tricked into believing they are in a relationship, also hit a new high, with losses of £36.5 million, according to UK Finance.
However, the loss from APP fraud, which is tricked by criminals who impersonate banks or police to persuade someone to transfer money to a 'safe account', has decreased.
UK Finance said significant investment had been made to warn consumers that banks would never ask someone to transfer money in this way.
In 2023, approximately 62%, or £287.3 million, of APP fraud losses were returned to victims, up slightly from 59% in 2022.
“One area of APP fraud to watch in the coming year is the evolution of losses due to investment fraud,” the report added.
Losses from investment fraud have fallen over the past two years, he said, but this may reflect cost-of-living issues.
“These pressures are expected to fade in 2024 as real incomes rise, which may increase the risk of losses due to investment fraud,” the report added.
Rising cryptocurrency prices could be exploited by criminals to trick potential victims with promises of big profits, UK Finance has warned.
New rules will come into effect from October, mandating refunds for APP fraud. Many banks have now signed up to voluntary repayment codes.
In his report, Mr Donaldson said: “Repayment is only part of the solution because victims are still suffering and criminals are still receiving stolen money.
“A cross-sector approach is important, as is sharing actionable information and delivering proactive disruptive actions and operations.”
Asked about the potential impact and unintended consequences of mandatory repayment on APP fraud, Mr Donaldson highlighted concerns that criminals would find ways to exploit the situation.
“The concept is right, but the details are what will really make the difference in terms of keeping consumers safe and making sure this works effectively,” he said.
He added: “I think it's likely that there will be an increase in certain types of fraud. I would be surprised if criminals don't get the opportunity to exploit this to commit collusion fraud.”
For example, Mr. Donaldson said: “It may make it easier for criminals to manipulate some victims because there is a very compelling point to make this investment. Triple your money or I'll give you your money back.
“There may be some sort of category that potentially gives criminals an opportunity to use another persuasion tactic.”
In 2023, criminals stole a total of £1.17 billion through unauthorized and authorized fraud, a 4% decrease compared to 2022.
The bank prevented a further £1.25 billion of unauthorized fraud through its advanced security systems.
According to UK Finance, more than three quarters (76%) of APP fraud incidents started online, with 16% via telecommunications networks.
In 2023, losses due to unauthorized transactions via payment cards, remote banking and checks were £708.7 million, a 3% decrease compared to 2022.
The total number of records decreased by 2% to 2.7 million.
UK Finance said the rollout of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), which verifies customers' identities, has helped reduce fraud.
Card identity theft is on the rise in 2023, with losses rising 53% to £79.1 million.
If criminals are unable to socially manipulate victims into making authorized payments, they use collected personal information and stolen card information to take over existing accounts or apply for new credit cards, UK Finance said.
The figures also show that contactless card fraud losses reached £41.5 million last year, an increase of almost a fifth (19%) compared to 2022.
However, the increase is only a slight increase compared to the annual increase rate of more than 80% in 2022.
The report found that contactless card losses surged in 2022 due to increased spending limits and significantly expanded acceptance during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The recent increase in contactless fraud has been growing at a much slower rate than the increase in transaction volume and value,” he added.
Matt Hepburn, fraud spokesman for TSB, which runs its own fraud money-back guarantee, said: “We have seen first-hand the importance of returning money to innocent victims and welcome the new rules which will ensure that all banking customers have a higher level of protection. We stand against the destructive effects of fraud.”
Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK, said: “While the industry has made significant progress in protecting customers and preventing fraud, criminals pocketed more than £1.1 billion last year.”
He added: “We owe it to consumers to stamp out this horrific crime. The only way to do this is to prevent these crimes from happening at the source. To achieve this, cooperation between industries, including banks, is urgently needed. , technology companies, carriers and governments working together to create meaningful change.”
Stop Scams UK chief executive Mark Tierney also called for further collaborative efforts, saying: Scam.”