UK fraud filings reach first-half record

Britain recorded more than 220,000 fraud-risk cases in the first six months of 2026, the highest total ever registered for the January-to-June period, as identity theft, account takeovers and money-mule activity intensified across financial and digital services. The figure was about 1% higher than a year earlier.

Identity fraud remained the dominant threat, accounting for 59% of all cases entered into the National Fraud Database during the period. More than 129,000 identity fraud cases were recorded, an increase of 9% from the first half of 2025, highlighting the growing value of stolen personal information to organised criminal networks.

Plastic cards and bank accounts were the main targets, together accounting for about 68% of identity fraud cases. Fraud involving plastic cards increased particularly sharply, with filings rising 33%, or almost 15,000 cases, as criminals continued exploiting compromised personal data to obtain credit and financial products.

The figures point to an increasingly digital fraud environment in which artificial intelligence, synthetic identities and manipulated documents are strengthening established criminal techniques. Fraudsters are using generative tools to produce convincing application documents, impersonate individuals and businesses and improve phishing material, allowing attacks to be launched faster and against larger numbers of potential victims.

Account takeover fraud also increased, rising 5% to 39,878 cases during the six-month period. Telecoms and online retail accounted for three-quarters of recorded account takeover cases, although the pattern shifted considerably between sectors. Online retail filings jumped 84%, while cases linked to plastic cards climbed 59%. Telecoms filings declined 23%.

SIM-swap fraud, which can allow criminals to intercept security codes and gain control of victims’ accounts, increased more than fourfold. The rise illustrates how criminals continue adapting to stronger authentication measures by targeting the communications infrastructure used to verify customers and authorise transactions.

Money-mule activity emerged as another rapidly expanding area. More than 13,000 cases indicating money muling were filed during the first half of 2026, 69% more than during the comparable period of 2025. Such cases accounted for about 30% of all misuse-of-facility filings, compared with 15% a year earlier.

Money mules allow their accounts or financial products to receive and transfer criminal proceeds, creating a bridge between fraud and wider money laundering networks. Younger people remain particularly exposed to recruitment through social networks and online approaches. About 40% of accounts identified in money-mule cases involved Generation Z, while more than half of those involved were under 30.

The increase came despite an overall decline in the broader misuse-of-facility category. More than 43,000 such cases were registered between January and June, down 15% year on year. Misuse of facilities nevertheless remained the second-largest fraud category, representing roughly one-fifth of National Fraud Database filings.

False application fraud also continued to fall, declining 26% to just over 6,300 cases. However, fraud involving loans moved in the opposite direction, with filings increasing 33%, including cases involving personal and company unsecured borrowing supported by altered or fabricated documentation. The growing sophistication of false documents is adding pressure on lenders to strengthen digital identity verification.

The half-year figures extend a period of historically high fraud volumes. More than 444,000 cases were recorded in the National Fraud Database during 2025, 6% above 2024 and the highest annual total on record. The 2026 first-half trajectory indicates that filings could again approach or exceed those levels if activity remains elevated.

The wider economic impact is considerably larger than database filings alone indicate. More than four million fraud offences were estimated in England and Wales in the year ending September 2025, representing 45% of all crime measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The economic and social cost of fraud in England and Wales has been estimated at at least £14.4 billion annually.