Social media giants are enabling a surge in online scams while UK banks and payment firms are left to absorb the losses, a leading trade body has warned, as it calls for government to impose tougher rules on scam advertising.  

The Payments Association (TPA) has published a new report exposing the scale of online scam exposure and calling for enforceable action on digital platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram to prevent consumers from being conned online. 

The call comes at TPA’s annual PAY360 event - the UK’s largest event for the payments sector.  

In its report –The New Origin of App Fraud: Digital Platforms and Shared Accountability - TPA examines the troubling rise of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, where victims are manipulated into authorising payments to fraudsters, often following sustained contact and deception.

The report describes APP fraud as “one of the most significant and fastest-growing threats to consumers and businesses,” with an estimated £450.7 million lost to this type of fraud in the UK in 2024. 

The Payments Association’s report warns that the burden of combating scam ads is not fairly shared. It highlights a fundamental imbalance at the heart of the fraud system, with scams often originating on digital platforms while banks and payment firms are left to absorb the losses.  

The report also highlights that scam exposure is concentrated on a small number of major platforms, with industry data consistently pointing to a significant share of cases originating within Meta’s platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

It states: “The majority of APP fraud cases now begin on digital platforms, not within the banking system.” 

“Around 66% of cases start in online environments such as social media, marketplaces, and messaging services, where fraudsters can reach victims at scale through advertising, impersonation, and direct communication.” 

The report warns that while digital platforms profit from advertising, banks and payment providers pick up the tab when consumers are defrauded.   

It is estimated that social media platforms generated £3.8 billion in revenue from scam advertising in Europe in 2025. Meanwhile, banks and payment providers have reimbursed consumers around 88% of all APP fraud losses since October 2024. 

The report warns that the “disconnect” between where APP fraud starts and who pays for it is allowing scams to scale while incentives to stop them remain misaligned. 

It adds: “By the time a transaction reaches the banking system, the scam has often been in motion for days or weeks, limiting the ability of payment providers to intervene effectively.”

The report calls for an overhaul of the system, creating enforceable rules to strengthen scam prevention on digital platforms.  These include tighter advertiser verification, warning that weak identity checks and the amplification of fraudulent content are helping scams spread at scale.  

The analysis highlighted that repeat offenders can quickly return to platforms to launch new scams, with fraudsters frequently moving from public adverts into private messaging scams. 

The paper calls for a shift towards shared accountability across the fraud chain, with tougher, enforceable expectations on digital platforms alongside financial institutions. 

It calls for: 

• Enforceable standards for scam prevention on digital platforms

• Robust advertiser verification and monitoring

• Defined timeframes for the removal of fraudulent content

• Mandatory cross-sector intelligence sharing

• Greater transparency and accountability in platform oversight

The report warns that current reforms still fall short of addressing where scams originate. “Recent reforms, including mandatory reimbursement rules, have improved consumer protection but focus on the end of the fraud lifecycle, not its origin.

“While newer frameworks such as the Online Safety Act and EU Digital Services Act recognise platform responsibilities, they do not yet fully align accountability with where scam exposure occurs.” 

Riccardo Tordera-Ricchi, TPA’s Vice President - Policy and Government Relations, said: “This report is not seeking to shift responsibility and liability, but to share it more fairly.

“To reduce fraud at scale, responsibility must extend to the digital platforms where scams originate. Aligning incentives, strengthening prevention upstream, and improving coordination across sectors is essential to protect consumers and restore trust in the digital economy.”