The high street bank said the biggest increase in scams was reported by customers aged 80 and over.
This was up 7% from the previous quarter, driven by scammers impersonating banks.
It also recorded a 6% quarterly increase in 18 to 34-year-olds reporting falling victim to scams. This was driven by criminals making fake offers of concert tickets.
The figures were released as part of the bank’s new quarterly “Scamtracker” – showing £18.4 million was stolen from customers in the first three months of 2025.
Last year we saw nearly £8 million handed over to romance scammers, with the average scam costing £5,009. With social media being the most common place for these scams to start, our Head of Fraud and Customer Experience, Michelle, shares some things to look out for. https://t.co/0IVHKCgHXK
— Santander UK (@santanderuk) February 13, 2025
The total marks a 13% decrease compared with the previous quarter, although the bank highlighted some “worrying trends”.
It said impersonation scams, advance fee scams and romance/friendship scams were the top rising scams in the first quarter of this year, collectively accounting for nearly £3.5 million stolen from customers.
The increase comes despite the bank’s research indicating that more than half of consumers say they are aware of romance and friendship scams (63%) and impersonation scams (49%).
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Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK, said: “While a decrease in the amount stolen by scammers is welcome, £18 million is a staggering amount to have been taken from our customers and placed into the criminal underworld.
“Scams are evolving at breakneck speed, which can make staying on top of the new ones exceptionally hard for customers.”
Here are some age breakdowns from Santander:
- 18 to 34 years old – accounted for 27% of claims. Most common scam – purchase scams (tickets).
- 35 to 50 years old – accounted for 23% of claims. Most common scam – purchase scams (tickets).
- 51 to 65 years old – accounted for 23% of claims. Most common scam – purchase scams (vehicles).
- 66 to 80 years old – accounted for 18% of claims. Most common scam – impersonation (criminals pretending to be organisations other than banks or the police, for example HMRC)
- 80-plus – accounted for 4% of claims. Most common scam – impersonation (criminals pretending to be from banks or the police).
It is worth noting that some fraud reports also involved accounts belonging to under-18s:
