TSB responds to UK Finance fraud data for 2021

29th June 2022

The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Paul Davis, Director of Fraud Prevention, TSB, said:

“These alarming fraud losses demand urgent action from social media and telephone companies to protect their users from relentless scams that are far too easily carried out online and via phone.”

“In contrast to our own approach, it’s disappointing that the industry’s fraud refund rate has barely increased, with over half the money stolen by fraudsters still not refunded to victims – at a time when people’s finances are already squeezed by a cost-of-living crisis.”

Media Contacts

Matthew Hepburn | Media Relations Manager, TSB
T: 07483 431 309 | matthew.hepburn@tsb.co.uk

Notes to editors

UKFI figures show:

Authorised scams are up 39% by value and 27% by volume – with 47% of losses returned to customers across the banking sector.
TSB’s refund rate in 2021 is 98%.

TSB introduced its Fraud Refund Guarantee in April, 2019. Fraud Refund Guarantee | TSB Bank

To combat fraud and ensure all customers receive refunds, TSB is calling for:

Banks must refund fraud victims – to ensure other innocent people aren’t forced to live with the devastating impact of fraud.
Social media firms, telcos and tech giants must be held accountable for the fraud they enable.
Online platforms and telephone companies must drastically strengthen their efforts to prevent fraud. For instance:
Online platforms should tackle scam adverts, reported fake profiles and purchase fraud within marketplaces.
Telephone companies should prevent bombardment from scam texts and ease at which numbers can be spoofed.
Create a requirement on all large businesses (phone, social media and tech companies) to measure and share the volume of fraud that occurs on their platforms and report it annually. This will help inform consumers and hold to account those platforms where fraud is most rife.

Read more policy asks in TSB’s The Faces of Fraud report, here: https://www.tsb.co.uk/media-centre/insights-and-views/tsb-tackling-fraud-together.pdf

The information contained in this press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.