Brits warned of rise in ‘quick and unexpected’ scam costing victims £1,307

Brits warned of rise in ‘quick and unexpected’ scam costing victims £1,307Police forces have seen a rise in reports of the scam with losses totalling over £250m in the last 12 months. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Toby Codd 12:59, Thu, May 28, 2026 Updated: 13:02, Thu, May 28, 2026 Brits are being urged to remain vigilant (Image: Getty)Brits are being warned of a "quick and unexpected" scam that could cost them over £1,300. Police forces across the UK have recorded a surge in retail and banking fraud over the last year, with people being conned out of a total of £252.8 million. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) According to data obtained by Confused.com through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, victims lost an average of £1,307. The Metropolitan Police recorded 16,500 reports of retail and banking fraud, while West Midlands Police recorded 4,600 and Greater Manchester Police recorded 4,500. Meanwhile, around one in three people say they've experienced debit or credit card fraud, with stolen card details being used online the most common issue. Scammers are also using other methods, including selling fake tickets to concerts, sporting events and festivals to con victims out of cash. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include ad...