UK fraud losses soar to over £38bn

Fraud cost the UK economy more than £38bn over the last 12 months, according to the latest annual statistics from the UK's National Fraud Authority. The figures represent an increase of nearly £8bn (or more than 25 per cent) for the losses recorded by the same Annual Fraud Indicator last year. Fraud in the public sector (£21. …

[Rich 11]

Financial fraud

>The financial services industry recorded £3.6bn in fraudulent losses last year

I think you'll find that figure has been underestimated by several hundred billion.

[Refugee from Windows]

Lost in the accounting

They'd rather not report what is going on as it was upset their customers and shareholders. They'll refund the customer but not report it as being a crime lest they get investigated, or at least investigate it themselves.

[Anonymous Coward]

So that's fraud not by those who're supposed to do it.

But what I'd like to know is some perspective on that loss. If you lose your life savings to the last penny, that you'd call devastating. If you lose a tenner and you still have a million in the bank, you won't notice. So, these losses put a dent in just what total economic figures?

[Anonymous Coward]

Financial services.

"The financial services industry recorded £3.6bn in fraudulent BONUSES last year"

Fixed that for you.

Mines the one with the huge brown envelope.

[James 5]

Underestimated ?

Can the Register find out if the £3.6bn includes the bonuses paid to the directors of the financial services industry?

[LawLessLessLaw]

Trickle down the back of your neck

He we don't call it fraud, we call it quantative easing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Fraud cost the UK economy more than £38bn

Unless all the fraudsters were abroad, *the UK economy* has not lost it

[Adrian Midgley 1]

Trend as a proportion?

Relative is more informative than absolute there, I think.