APP fraud losses have fallen by an estimated £73m per year, says report

Dr Rasha Kassem, senior academic and leader of the Fraud Research Group at Aston University, said: “The evaluation provides encouraging evidence that mandatory reimbursement has improved outcomes for victims of APP fraud, particularly by increasing consumer protection and incentivising firms to strengthen fraud prevention.

“However, the reported £73 million figure should be understood as an estimated annual consumer net benefit rather than a direct reduction in fraud losses. It’s also important to recognise that different datasets can produce different pictures of APP fraud because they measure activity in different ways.

“For example, fraud recorded by transaction date may differ significantly from data based on when claims are closed, particularly for fraud forms such as romance and investment fraud where victims often take months to realise they have been deceived.

“While reimbursement is an important safeguard, it is only one part of the solution. Preventing fraud requires continued investment in detection, intelligence sharing, consumer education and disruption of criminal networks. The findings are promising, but longer-term monitoring will be needed to determine the sustained impact of the reimbursement regime.

“It’s also important that discussions of APP fraud continue to emphasise the sophisticated manipulation used by criminals. Terms such as ‘gross negligence’ have a specific legal meaning, but without context they can be misunderstood by the public. Most victims are not careless; they are persuaded through carefully engineered psychological tactics designed to exploit trust, urgency or emotion.”