CSEW fraud up 31% to around 4.2 million incidents in YE March 2025

Fraud incidents in England and Wales rose 31% to around 4.2 million in the year ending (YE) March 2025, compared with 3.2 million in the YE March 2024 survey, according to Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimates published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 26 March 2026¹. The ONS said this was the highest estimated number of CSEW fraud incidents since fraud was first collected on the survey in YE March 2017¹.

The rise was mainly driven by a 30% increase in bank and credit account fraud, to around 2.4 million incidents, and a 23% increase in consumer and retail fraud, to around 1.1 million incidents¹. Combined incidents of consumer and retail fraud, advance fee fraud and other fraud reached an estimated 1.7 million, an 88% increase on the 910,000 recorded in the YE March 2017 survey¹.

Of the estimated 4.2 million fraud incidents, around 3 million involved a loss, and victims were fully reimbursed in 2.1 million of those cases¹. Where a loss occurred, 70% of victims lost less than £250, 19% lost between £250 and £999, and 11% lost £1,000 or more, with 1% losing £10,000 or more¹. Full reimbursement varied by fraud type: 85% for bank and credit account fraud, 48% for consumer and retail fraud and 40% for all other fraud¹.

The ONS reported that in most fraud incidents there was no contact between the offender and the victim (79%)¹. Where contact was made, the most common first method was a telephone call (39%) or online, for example social media (32%), followed by email (13%), in person (9%) and text message (4%)¹. The most common reason for contact was buying or selling items online (25%)¹.

The ONS also reported that the odds of being a fraud victim were greater for disabled people than non-disabled people, and for women than men, after adjusting for other factors¹. The odds were lower for those who identified as Asian, those with no educational qualifications and those in households with a total income below £10,400, compared with those who identified as White, those with a degree and those in households with income of £52,000 or more respectively¹.

Computer misuse incidents fell 32% to around 692,000, because of a 36% fall in unauthorised access to personal information, to 564,000 incidents¹.

Recorded fraud figures are collected separately. Fraud offences recorded by Action Fraud rose 1% in YE March 2025 to 354,622, reports referred to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau from Cifas rose 10% to 381,709, and reports from UK Finance fell 2% to 545,023¹. The ONS said the recorded fraud series is not a good indicator of volume or trends over time because a large proportion of victims do not report incidents to Action Fraud¹.

The Home Office's Economic Crime Survey 2024 reported that 27% of businesses with employees experienced fraud in the 12 months before the survey, most commonly fake invoice fraud (11% of businesses), mandate fraud (7%) and investment fraud (6%)¹. The Home Office's latest estimate of the cost of fraud in YE March 2024 was £14.4 billion, comprising £9.2 billion affecting individuals and £5.2 billion affecting businesses¹.

Why it matters for households

The CSEW estimates cover England and Wales and are based on interviews with the public, so they capture fraud that is not reported to the police. The 4.2 million figure for YE March 2025 is a survey estimate, not a count of reports, and the ONS notes that annual estimates for YE March 2021 and YE March 2022 are unavailable because of a break in the survey caused by the coronavirus pandemic¹.

For households, the survey indicates that most fraud incidents involve no contact between offender and victim, and that bank and credit account fraud accounted for the largest share of the increase¹. Where money was lost, most losses were under £250, but full reimbursement was less common for consumer and retail fraud (48%) and other fraud (40%) than for bank and credit account fraud (85%)¹. The ONS also reports that 71% of fraud victims reported an emotional impact, most commonly annoyance (75%), anger (49%), shock (27%) and loss of confidence or feeling vulnerable (23%)¹.

The ONS says more recent estimates for fraud trends were released in its Crime in England and Wales: YE September 2025 bulletin, and that these remain at similar levels¹. The Home Office cost estimate of £14.4 billion for YE March 2024 covers both individuals and businesses¹.

What happens next

The ONS lists its next release date for this bulletin as to be announced¹. The Report Fraud system replaced Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau on 4 December 2025¹. The ONS notes that the CSEW was accredited by the Office for Statistics Regulation until January 2014, when accreditation was removed following an assessment that found evidence the quality and consistency of the underlying data may not be reliable¹.