Investment fraud in the UK has surged to more than £220 million in losses over the past year, according to a report from UK Finance. Scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies, and wine have become increasingly elaborate as criminals leverage artificial intelligence to carry out larger-scale fraud.
Rise in Investment Scams
UK banks reported nearly 15,000 investment scams in 2025. About £221.5 million was lost to schemes where victims were persuaded to transfer money to fake investments or fictitious funds, a 40% increase from the previous year.
Ruth Ray, managing director for economic crime at UK Finance, stated that this type of fraud is popular among criminals due to its potential for high returns. Advances in AI have made it easier to execute scams on a much larger scale than before.
Common Scam Tactics
Typically, criminals promise high returns on investments in gold, property, carbon credits, cryptocurrencies, and wine. Recently, the Bank of England warned the public about AI-generated scams after deepfake videos of Reform leader Nigel Farage and Bank Governor Andrew Bailey circulated online.
Ray explained: “AI is making it easier because it allows you to make all of your communications more sophisticated. It allows you to spin up websites quickly and easily to make your business look legitimate when it may be otherwise. It allows you to send out messages at scale and contact users by telephone at scale, and also it can allow you to mimic voices of celebrities or even people’s friends and family to fool people into thinking that they are dealing with a legitimate entity.”
Overall Fraud Statistics
The annual fraud report revealed that a total of £1.28 billion was stolen last year, a 4% increase, with over 4 million cases. This equates to eight people being defrauded of £2,500 every minute, according to UK Finance.
Authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where criminals trick individuals into transferring money to accounts they control, rose by almost a fifth. Purchase scams, where people are duped into paying for nonexistent goods or services, also increased. Romance fraud, where victims pay individuals they believe they are in a relationship with, has also risen.
Reimbursement and Calls for Action
The mandatory fraud reimbursement scheme for APP fraud refunded 88% of losses, the report said. There were repeated calls for tech platforms, where many scams originate, to be forced to verify online sellers and contribute more to fraud prevention. Ray noted that tech companies have the ability to tackle more fraud but are not investing in the necessary expertise. Meta and TikTok were approached for comment.
Ray added: “Given most APP fraud still starts via online tech platforms or via telecoms, we urgently need stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on these sectors. This is the way to reduce the harm and stop criminals and tech companies profiting from these devastating crimes.”
