Consumers are increasingly being targeted by financial fraudsters who deceive them into sending money, access their bank accounts or take out loans using their identity. Over the summer, new and more sophisticated scams have been widespread. Behind these frauds – things like phishing emails and scam calls – are a variety of schemes designed to trap people from any section of society.

In England and Wales, there was a 33% increase in the number of people falling victim to fraud in 2024, meaning it now accounts for 40% of all crime against individuals. According to one study, looking at the scale of the problem internationally, 31% of all adults in the US were targeted by fraudsters between 2021 and 2023. This figure was just 8% for Japan.

Much of this fraud is cross-border, so much so that the UK Home Office estimated in 2023 that 70% of fraud has an international element. And while some fraud........

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