Fraud costs Britain an estimated £14bn a year, yet just 3,628 fraudsters were brought to justice in the year to June 2025. The Government is weighing civil penalty notices and fines of up to 100% of the amount stolen, while experts say serious cases still need prosecution.
Only one in 54 fraud reports in England and Wales leads to a charge or court summons, and victims wait an average of 18 months for police to decide whether to charge—eight times longer than for a typical criminal case. When prosecutors pursue a case, the conviction rate is 82%; as little as 1% of policing resources is dedicated to fraud. Jonathan Fisher KC recommends sentences of up to 20 years for serious fraud and money laundering, but only about four fraud convictions a year lead to sentences longer than eight years.
A mandatory bank-refund scheme for authorised push-payment fraud, in which victims approve the transfers, began in October 2024 and repaid £316m in its first 18 months. A government-backed report said it reduced victims’ losses by about £73m a year, but UK Finance disputed that finding, citing differences in fraud reporting. Experts say civil fines may be difficult to issue because as many as 70% of frauds are committed at least partly overseas; one analyst warns offenders could treat fines as a cost of doing business.
