Fraud losses from people being tricked into sending money to criminals rose sharply in 2025, with authorized push payment (APP) fraud increasing by 19% to £576.4 million, according to data from UK Finance. The rise is being linked in part to the growing use of artificial intelligence, which has made scams more convincing, scalable, and difficult to detect.
AI is lowering the barrier to entry for cybercriminals by enabling them to generate realistic messages, clone voices, create deepfake content, and impersonate trusted individuals or organizations. These tools allow fraudsters to operate at a much larger scale while making their scams appear more legitimate. UK Finance noted that two-thirds of APP fraud cases originated online, reflecting the growing role of digital platforms in facilitating fraud.
Investment scams were among the fastest-growing forms of fraud, with losses rising 40% to £221.5 million. Romance scams also increased significantly as criminals used sophisticated manipulation techniques over extended periods to gain victims' trust. Overall, criminals stole approximately £1.2 billion through payment-related fraud during the year, highlighting the increasing financial impact of AI-enhanced scams.
Financial institutions have responded with stronger reimbursement programs and fraud-detection systems, but industry leaders argue that banks cannot address the problem alone. They are calling for technology companies, social media platforms, and telecommunications providers to take greater responsibility for preventing fraud that often begins through online advertisements, messaging apps, social networks, and spoofed communications.
The broader concern is that AI is transforming fraud from a largely manual activity into an industrial-scale operation. Cybersecurity experts warn that as AI tools become more powerful and accessible, scams will become increasingly personalized and persuasive. This is prompting governments, regulators, financial institutions, and technology firms to accelerate efforts to improve fraud detection, information sharing, and consumer protection before AI-driven fraud grows even further.
