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Investment fraud in UK soared to more than £220m lost last year, trade body says

Increasingly elaborate investment scams involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine have soared in the past year with more than £220m lost to the fraud, according to a report. UK banks reported almost 15,000 investment scams in 2025 as criminals use artificial intelligence to dupe people out of their money. About £221.5m was lost to scams in which people were persuaded to move their money to a fake investment or a fictitious fund, a rise of 40% from the year before, according to the report from UK Finance. This parti

By the Truvace desk1 min read1 sourceJournalismTRV-2026-0084· cite & verify
Investment fraud in UK soared to more than £220m lost last year, trade body says

In brief

UK Finance reported almost 15,000 investment scams in 2025, with about £221.5m lost after people were persuaded to move money to fake investments or fictitious funds, a 40% rise on the prior year. The report said criminals use artificial intelligence to dupe people and that advances in AI make large-scale scams easier, with schemes involving gold, cryptocurrencies and wine.

The scale of losses matters because it shows AI lowering the cost and increasing the reach of high-return fraud for criminals, shifting risk onto consumers and banks. It remains uncertain how much of the 40% increase is directly attributable to AI versus other factors, and what prevention or reimbursement measures will curb future losses.

Main points

  1. UK banks reported almost 15,000 investment scams in 2025 according to UK Finance
  2. Losses rose 40% year-on-year to about £221.5m from fake investments and fictitious funds
  3. Scams increasingly involved gold, cryptocurrencies and wine and were described as high-return for criminals

The problem

Criminals using artificial intelligence to run investment scams persuaded UK victims to move money into fake funds, causing about £221.5m in losses in 2025

Sources

  1. JournalismThe Guardian2026-06-15

The debate