# £576.4m lost to authorised push payment scams in 2025 as AI manipulates victims

By Dr Rasha Kassem — 2026-06-15

Dr Rasha Kassem, senior academic and leader of the Fraud Research Group at Aston University, said: “The latest UK Finance figures highlight the continuing and deeply concerning impact of authorised push payment (APP) fraud on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

“The reported 19 per cent increase in APP fraud losses to £576.4 million demonstrates that fraudsters are adapting their methods and exploiting both technological advances and human vulnerabilities.

“However, while artificial intelligence (AI) is frequently presented as a key driver of this increase, it is important to avoid attributing the problem solely to AI.

“Fraud is fundamentally a social engineering crime. Long before the emergence of generative AI, criminals successfully manipulated victims through trust, urgency, fear and emotional exploitation.

“AI has undoubtedly enhanced criminals’ capabilities by enabling more convincing impersonation, large-scale personalisation and the creation of synthetic content.

“Nevertheless, the core mechanism remains psychological manipulation rather than technology itself. Focusing exclusively on AI risks overlooking the behavioural and social factors that make individuals susceptible to fraud.

“The reimbursement figures also require careful interpretation. While 61 per cent of APP losses were reimbursed, this still leaves a substantial proportion of victims facing significant financial and emotional harm.

“Furthermore, reimbursement should not be viewed as a complete solution. Prevention remains more effective than compensation after the event, particularly given the distress, loss of trust and reputational consequences experienced by many victims.

“The article rightly highlights the role of online platforms and telecommunications providers. However, responsibility for tackling fraud must be shared across the entire ecosystem, including financial institutions, technology companies, regulators, policymakers and consumers.

“Effective fraud prevention requires a multi-layered approach combining technological detection systems, consumer education, cross-sector intelligence sharing and stronger disruption of mule account networks.

“The rise in APP fraud serves as a reminder that combating fraud is not simply a technological challenge but a societal one. Building public resilience against manipulation and deception should be considered as important as investing in advanced fraud detection technologies.”

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