Fraud victims are losing more money to impersonation scams, with Lloyds Bank reporting an average loss of £3,516 in the past year, a 10 per cent rise on the previous 12 months. The bank warned that criminals posing as banks, police officers, HMRC and broadband or mobile providers are becoming increasingly convincing, often exploiting summer financial pressures to pressure victims into acting quickly. While overall case numbers reported to Lloyds fell slightly, the amounts lost per scam have grown significantly.

In one extreme case, an 85-year-old woman lost £188,000 after being persuaded by fraudsters posing as police to buy gold over eight transactions across five months, which was then collected by someone claiming to be an undercover officer. Other scam types carry lower but still substantial losses: HMRC impersonation scams, often involving fake tax refund links, cost victims £2,288 on average, while broadband and mobile provider scams average £1,169. Lloyds' fraud prevention director Liz Ziegler urged people to end suspicious calls and contact organisations directly, noting that scam messages are designed to create urgency and secrecy. The data covers scams reported between July 2025 and June 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier.