*Online trading scam experts urge the British public to exercise caution when making financial transactions of any kind, and ensure that they are confident that any transactions are done via official, safe and legal means

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

A fresh study has revealed that the United Kingdom (UK) residents and businesses have experienced financial losses of £2.5billion from frauds and cybercrime in the course of the year 2021.

It was gathered the research by Chargeback firm and online trading scam specialists Payback Limited analysed data drawn from the country’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB).

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson

The study disclosed that the UK reported almost 500,000 cases of frauds and cybercrime that have resulted in financial loss for consumers and businesses, TheFinTechTimes said.

Spanning data from November 2020 to November 2021, the research showed that the UK  reported an average 40,586 cases of frauds and cybercrime per month, with an average financial loss of £5,700 per case.

The height of cybercrime activity appeared during the earlier months of the year, report said.

Also, the UK February 2021 reported 47,800 cases, equating to £267.6million in financial loss, while March in the past year, over 48,500 cases amounted to losses of £219.3million were recorded.

Among the top five crime codes of reported cases in 2021, fraudulent activity using online shopping and auctions amounts to more than one hundred thousand reported cases through the year (100,168 in total) that amount to a value of £77.1million in financial loss.

The overall umbrella of “consumer fraud” includes other criminal activity such as dating scams and bogus tradesmen, and accounts for £437.2million of the country’s losses this year.

Overall, fraud and cybercrime cases relating to individual British residents account for 87% of the country’s total report volume.

This translates to £1.8billion of financial loss incurred over a reported 421,473 cases.

Those aged 20-29 reported the most instances of criminal activity, with 82.2K reports made across the course of the year – followed closely by those aged 30-39, who clocked in 80.9K reports.

There have been 62,976 reports made by British businesses throughout 2021, equating to a total reported financial loss of £736.3million, according to report.

On the research findings, a Spokesperson for Payback Limited said: “It is difficult to see such high figures relating to fraudulent and criminal activity taking place over the course of the year.

“It is imperative that the British public exercise caution when making financial transactions of any kind, and to ensure that they are confident that any transactions are done via official, safe and legal means.”

This study, conducted by Payback Limited, a global financial recovery company helping to get back money stolen by scammers for over 6,500 consumers.

The firm is said to be the only debt recovery service that successfully recovers money from cryptocurrency scams.