Card fraud has rebounded, affecting 14% of people in two years

A Which? public survey found that 14% of people had experienced card fraud in the last two years, rising to one fifth of respondents aged 25 to 34¹. The consumer body published its findings on 3 July 2026 alongside an investigation into nine banking brands and card providers¹.

Which? reported that card fraud dipped a few years ago but has rebounded¹. Separately, UK Finance's annual fraud report for 2026 indicated that eight people every minute are a victim of fraud and £2,500 is lost every minute, with the number of cases in 2025 up 11% on 2024¹.

The investigation focused on the automatic billing updater, a service that passes new card details to businesses holding old ones so subscriptions and wallets keep working after a card expires or is replaced¹. Which? said the service has different names across card schemes: American Express calls it Card Refresher, Mastercard calls it the Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater, and Visa calls it the Visa Account Updater¹.

The problem arises when a fraudster has stored a victim's card details on an account they control, because the new details can be passed on and the fraud continues¹. Which? said most customers cannot opt out of the updater, because the bank does not allow it¹. It reported that Monzo was the only provider doing so at the time, and that a customer has to cancel their card to opt out¹. Starling, Monzo and NatWest told Which? they will opt a customer's card out of the billing updater if the customer is a victim of fraud, and will also do so if a customer cancels a card for any reason and requests a new one¹.

Which? also described banks identifying individual fraudulent transactions and blocking them so fraudsters do not receive new card details, noting this could in some cases prevent the genuine cardholder from shopping with those blocked retailers¹.

On unauthorised payments, Which? said cardholders should be reimbursed for payments they did not make, and that a customer can make a formal complaint to the bank and then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service if still unhappy¹. It also noted that contactless limits were lifted but many banks have kept them in place for the time being, and that around half a million people have signed up to a scheme it said was registered in 1996¹.

Why it matters for households

Card fraud is a common experience: more than one in 10 respondents to the Which? survey had been affected in two years, and one fifth of 25 to 34-year-olds¹. The automatic billing updater means replacing a card after fraud does not necessarily stop a fraudster spending, because new details can be passed to accounts they control¹. Which? found that most customers cannot opt out, and that the option to do so is not offered by most providers¹. Where a card is cancelled for any reason, Starling, Monzo and NatWest said they will opt the customer out¹. Anyone who has made payments they did not authorise can complain to their bank and, if unresolved, to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹. More on credit card fraud and unauthorised payments and which protects you better against fraud is set out in our guides.

What happens next

Which? has not reported any change of policy by the card schemes or by the banks that do not currently allow customers to opt out¹. It said Starling, Monzo and NatWest will opt a customer's card out of the billing updater if the customer is a victim of fraud, or if they cancel their card for any reason and request a new one¹. No date has been reported for wider changes.