Banking giant Santander UK has warned customers after three hard-to-spot scams swindled Britons out of millions in the first three months of the year. Purchase scams, romance scams, and impersonation scams were the top tactics criminals used to trick victims, according to the bank’s “Scamtracker”.
The quarterly tracker found a staggering £18.4million was stolen from customers between January and March of 2025. The total marks a 13% decrease compared with the previous quarter, although the bank highlighted some “worrying trends”. 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.”
According to the bank’s data, there has been a jump in the number of older adults aged 80-plus and younger adults aged 34 and below reporting scams this year. It said the number of impersonation, advance fee, and romance/friendship scams surged in the first quarter of this year, collectively accounting for nearly £3.5million stolen from customers.
However, 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%).
The research also found that less than a fifth (17%) of people said they are aware of advance fee scams, in which people pay upfront for items or services that never materialise or are shoddy.
Cases involving gig tickets accounted for more than 10% of purchase scam claims, as scammers preyed on demand for tickets to see acts such as Sabrina Carpenter and Coldplay.
The bank has also reported a quarterly rise in impersonation scams, with criminals posing as representatives from organisations like HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
This increase is likely linked to people spending the beginning of the year filing self-assessment returns or handling tax changes.
Mr Ainsley added: “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 UK’s Scamtracker for the first quarter of 2025 (some fraud reports also involved accounts belonging to under-18s):
- 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).
