Fraud levels in the UK are on track to surpass last year as criminals find success using stolen personal information.
According to new figures from fraud prevention service Cifas, more than 220,000 fraud-risk cases were recorded to the UK National Fraud Database (NFD) between January and June, the highest volume ever for the first six months of a year.
Identity fraud accounted for almost three in five cases, rising 9% year-on-year to 129,490 reports. Mike Haley, CEO of Cifas, says the figures show how “valuable” personal information has become to bad actors.
“Whether it is used to open accounts, take over existing facilities or support wider criminal activity, stolen personal data often provides the entry point,” Haley states.
Criminals can obtain personal information through a range of methods, including phishing and smishing attacks, where convincing emails or text messages impersonating trusted organisations are used to steal login credentials and other sensitive information.
The accessibility of AI has made these scams more convincing, and similar tactics are also being used to commit authorised push payment (APP) fraud by persuading victims to send money to bad actors posing as trusted contacts.
With the information in hand, criminals can use it to commit payment fraud, which is also on the rise. According to UK Finance’s Annual Fraud Report 2026, criminals stole £1.28bn through the method in the UK last year.
Social media causing problems?
Cifas’ report looked at identity fraud across several sectors, including banking, communications, online retail and asset finance, though the biggest growth came across payments-related products.
Plastic cards have become a key target, with related cases rising 33% year-on-year to 59,747 cases, making up almost half (46%) of all identity fraud recorded during the period. Loan-related cases also increased significantly, climbing 49% to 10,604 cases.
Bank accounts were still one of the most targeted products, despite falling 7% compared to the first half of 2025, with 23,382 cases recorded.
Looking at the demographics most affected, Cifas noted that people aged 61 and over were the most common victims. However, the largest increase was among 21 to 30-year-olds, where cases rose by 32%.
Cifas linked the rise among younger consumers to the growth of scams taking place across digital channels, particularly social media platforms, which have become a growing concern for UK regulators around APP scams.
Renuka Rawlins, Director of Policy and Government Relations at The Payments Association, spoke to Payment Expert earlier this year about how positive results from the APP scam reimbursement mandate only “treat the symptoms, not the source of fraud”.
“While it’s encouraging to see that mandatory reimbursement is driving stronger fraud controls within the payments sector, the financial industry cannot solve this problem in isolation,” said Rawlins.
“Fraud doesn’t originate within payment systems – it begins across a much wider digital ecosystem, heavily driven by social media platforms and telecom networks.
“The payments sector has stepped up, but a sustainable solution requires holding the platforms where these scams originate equally accountable. We look forward to engaging with regulators on this to ensure the future framework reflects the reality of the entire fraud pipeline.”
Account takeover and what needs to be done
Account takeover fraud also continued to rise, increasing 5% to 39,878 cases during the first six months of 2026. Although communications accounts were the most targeted sector overall, payment-related products experienced some of the strongest growth.
Online retail account takeover increased by 84% year-on-year to 9,526 cases, while plastic card account takeover rose 59% to 5,911 reports.
The figures suggest that compromised customer accounts are a valuable target for criminals, especially as more consumers store payment details across digital commerce platforms.
Haley believes the latest data proves the need for organisations to improve collaboration as fraud tactics continue to become more sophisticated.
“As criminals continue to evolve their tactics and use digital channels to reach new audiences, education, awareness and prevention remain particularly important for younger people who are increasingly exposed to fraud risks,” he said.
“Greater reporting, stronger detection and cross-sector data and intelligence sharing are helping organisations build a clearer picture of the key threats. By working together and acting earlier, we can better protect consumers, support businesses and prevent fraud before it takes hold.”
