Research from Moneyhub, the Open Banking data and payments platform, has revealed that younger generations are more likely to have been victims of financial fraud than older generations, who have traditionally been seen as the primary target. The research, which surveyed over 2000 people, brings into focus the extent and scale of the issue across the country and across the generations.

According to the ONS, there were 3.6 million incidents of fraud in the year ending June 2024.* This makes it one of the most common crimes in the UK.

Moneyhub’s research highlights the need for more secure payment processes with credit card detail theft the most common type of financial fraud experienced by victims, which affected 30% of victims.

Concerningly, almost a third (30%) of respondents admit to having been a victim of financial fraud in the last 10 years, while a further 25% have been a target in their lifetime but never lost money. Despite 23% of over 55s having been victims of financial fraud in the last ten years2, this number jumps to 41% of 18-24 year-olds, highlighting the cross-generational targeting of fraudsters.

The findings also reveal that younger generations are likely to lose more money to financial fraud than older generations, with 14% of 18-24 year old fraud victims losing between £10,0010 and £20,000, compared to only 6% of those aged 25+. 17% of 18-24 year olds lost between £20,0010 and £50,000, compared to just 6% of those aged 25+.

Men also lost more money to fraud than women, with 44% of male victims losing more than £5,000. This number falls to 20% for women. The average sum of money lost by men to fraud was just shy of £30,000, while women lost just over £10,000.

Type of fraud that took place**

Mark Munson, MD of Payments at Moneyhub comments: “Unfortunately, financial fraud is pervasive in our society, affecting people from all walks of life with often devastating consequences for people’s finances. While we already knew this, our research puts this into stark relief and throws up some startling misconceptions that fraudsters typically target the elderly. But having the data to hand also presents interesting findings which allow us to consider how to reduce the scale of the issue.”

“Fundamentally, we have to consider the lack of financial education for all age groups.   Understanding the risks, and the modus operandi of the fraudsters and typical scams that are in operation needs to be high on the public awareness agenda.”

“The advancement of secure payment technology will go a long way to reducing the number of incidences of fraud. Open Banking payments, for example, allow payments to be made easily from one account to the other, taking away the need to use cards for payments, which our research shows remains a key target for fraudsters.  Open Banking payments are verified by bank level security on every transaction, providing an extra layer of security. With more secure payments available, the ball is in the court of retailers to adopt this technology and take steps to protect customers and clients alike.”