Over half the world’s population are targeted by payment scams each week as authorised payment fraud becomes a “fully fledged” global security threat, rather than a consumer protection issue, warns the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
In its latest report, defence and security think tank RUSI said the scam often known as authorised push payments (APP) – which involves victims being tricked into making payments – has “far-reaching consequences for institutional trust, economic stability and the integrity of the global financial system”.
RUSI said global losses from authorised payment fraud are estimated to be £329bn in 2025, with profits for criminals close to levels in the illicit drugs trade. “Fraud-related Interpol notices and alerts have risen by 54% globally since 2024,” added RUSI.
In its Authorised payment fraud: approaches to policy and governance report, RUSI said almost half of the world’s population is estimated to be targeted by a scammer each week: “Meanwhile, scam operations have become increasingly ‘polycriminal’ enterprises, spilling into organised criminality, corruption, human trafficking, cyber crime and even terrorism.”
It said while people in developed countries lose the most money to fraudsters in absolute terms, its impact in low and middle income countries is much higher. “The report warns that inaction tackling this fast-growing problem risks reversing a generation of hard-won financial inclusion gains,” said RUSI.
Banking industry calls for action from social media
In the UK, RUSI said an estimated two-thirds of fraudulent schemes targeting the British public originate overseas, warning that “…meeting the challenge requires countries to move beyond fragmented, single-sector measures towards a genuinely coordinated response”.
UK banks are calling for coordination that includes more action from social media platforms where many frauds are instigated. In June, alongside publication of its latest payments fraud figures, banking industry body UK Finance said criminals stole £1.28bn in the UK last year through payment fraud , describing it as a “national security threat” that is being accelerated by the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
UK Finance said it was “shocked but not surprised” at the 4% increase in the amount stolen by payment fraudsters, and called for more action by tech firms that are inadvertently “profiting” from fraud.
The UK Finance annual report revealed that 66% of APP fraud, which accounted for £576m, originated on social media platforms. It called for stronger, enforceable responsibilities to be placed on them.
During a June media briefing before the announcement of its latest payment fraud figures, Ruth Ray, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “The alarming truth is that the tech platforms are financially benefiting from fraudulent advertising. It’s wholly wrong that other sectors are knowingly profiting from fraud and scams due to loose controls around advertising.”
At the time, she pointed out that this includes platforms such as Facebook Marketplace, Instagram and TikTok. “Many of these large online social media platforms are where criminals prey on their victims because they have access to people at scale in their everyday lives as they are operating digitally,” said Ray.
