More than £2.6bn has been stolen through investment fraud in the UK since the start of 2020, according to new research by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI).
The data, obtained through FOI requests, showed there were almost 100,000 victims of investment fraud between 2020 and 2023.
The figure included 26,740 victims in 2023 – the highest number of victims in the four years covered in the research. The victims collectively lost £527m to investment fraud in 2023, which works out at £1.4m each day.
Between January 2020 and December 2023, there were 98,525 victims of investment fraud, as criminals stole the equivalent of nearly £13m every week. Victims typically lost an average of £26,773 to these investment scams over the period.
Almost £553m was stolen through boiler room fraud and £499m lost to Ponzi schemes. Boiler Room fraud is one of the most common types of investment scam. Since January 2020, 20,789 people in the UK became victims. Meanwhile there have been 12,323 victims of Ponzi or pyramid schemes in the UK since the start of 2020.
NUMBER OF UK VICTIMS OF INVESTMENT FRAUD
|
Type of Fraud
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
Total
|
|
Boiler Room Fraud
|
5,161
|
6,520
|
4,651
|
4,457
|
20,789
|
|
Pyramid or Ponzi Schemes
|
1,964
|
2,746
|
3,532
|
4,081
|
12,323
|
|
Fraud Recovery
|
1,842
|
2,447
|
2,404
|
3,151
|
9,844
|
|
Pension Liberation Fraud
|
549
|
367
|
269
|
266
|
1,451
|
|
Prime Bank Guarantees
|
2
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
10
|
|
Time Shares and Holiday Club Fraud
|
80
|
95
|
177
|
93
|
445
|
|
Other Financial Investment Fraud
|
10,554
|
14,195
|
14,226
|
14,688
|
53,663
|
|
Annual totals
|
20,152
|
26,374
|
25,259
|
26,740
|
98,525
|
Robert Wakefield, President of the Pensions Management Institute, said: “It is concerning that every year thousands of people are losing millions of pounds to financial scams in the UK. The number and sophistication of investment scams is ever-growing.
“Increasing the amount of financial education provided in schools could also help to make people more aware of the risks of investment scams.”
MONEY STOLEN IN INVESTMENT FRAUD
|
Type of Fraud
|
2020
|
2021
|
2022
|
2023
|
Total
|
|
Boiler Room Fraud
|
£147,892,842
|
£159,998,969
|
£138,693,701
|
£105,936,493
|
£552,522,005
|
|
Pyramid or Ponzi Schemes
|
£37,521,717
|
£153,257,133
|
£244,907,600
|
£62,856,315
|
£498,542,765
|
|
Fraud Recovery
|
£31,889,391
|
£43,141,747
|
£45,542,879
|
£42,664,731
|
£163,238,748
|
|
Pension Liberation Fraud
|
£5,725,166
|
£4,726,246
|
£3,725,635
|
£4,866,405
|
£19,043,452
|
|
Prime Bank Guarantees
|
£146,150
|
£75,700
|
£0
|
£21,349
|
£243,199
|
|
Time Shares and Holiday Club Fraud
|
£613,588
|
£560,195
|
£510,607
|
£895,384
|
£2,579,774
|
|
Other Financial Investment Fraud
|
£276,364,277
|
£394,165,761
|
£421,741,119
|
£309,397,338
|
£1,401,668,495
|
|
Annual totals
|
£500,153,131
|
£755,925,751
|
£855,121,541
|
£526,638,015
|
£2,637,838,438
|
The data was obtained using a Freedom of Information request to the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.
