Impersonation scam victims in the UK lost an average of £3,516 in the past year, according to data from Lloyds Banking Group, a 10% rise on the typical loss of £3,200 recorded the year before. The figures cover scams reported by Lloyds customers between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Impersonation scams are frauds in which criminals pose as trusted organisations (banks, the police, government agencies, or service providers) to convince victims to hand over money or personal details. They most commonly begin with a phone call, text message, email, or contact via social media.
What the Lloyds data shows about impersonation scam victims UK
Although the overall volume of impersonation scam cases reported to Lloyds fell by 3% over the period, the bank said reports of several specific types increased. Fraudsters pretending to be from banks, the police, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), broadband and mobile providers, and Amazon all went up in the past year, according to Lloyds. Among those, HMRC impersonation scams have seen the sharpest rise, up 63% in the last 12 months, as reported by The Sun.
Police and bank scams typically work by telling victims their money is at risk and urging them to move it to a so-called “safe account.” In some cases, criminals go a step further, coaching victims to lie to genuine bank staff if asked why they are transferring funds, telling them the bank itself is under investigation for fraud.
HMRC scams tend to take a different approach. Victims receive messages about tax refunds, with a link prompting them to enter personal or financial details. Victims of HMRC impersonation scams lost an average of £2,288 over the past year, according to Lloyds. Broadband and mobile provider scams, meanwhile, involve claims about billing problems, contract issues or internet faults, before requesting personal details or payment. The average loss in that category stands at £1,169.
One victim lost £188,000 over five months
While average figures give a broad picture, some cases involve far greater sums. Lloyds highlighted one case in which a single victim lost £188,000 to a police impersonation scam. An 85-year-old woman was persuaded to make eight separate purchases of gold across a five-month period. She handed the gold over to a person she believed to be an undercover police officer working on an investigation. The total loss came to £188,000.
The case illustrates how these scams are constructed to feel entirely credible. Victims are not simply tricked in a single exchange; they are drawn into an extended, seemingly logical narrative that makes each step feel necessary and legitimate.
Liz Ziegler, a fraud prevention director at Lloyds, pointed to the summer period as a time when fraudsters are particularly active. ‘Summer can be an expensive time of year, with many people focused on managing their finances around holidays, family days out and other seasonal costs,’ she said. ‘Fraudsters know money is often at the top of people’s minds and use convincing stories about account issues, refunds or urgent payments to pressure people into acting quickly.’
Ziegler also highlighted the design of scam messages themselves. ‘A scam message is designed to rush you,’ she said. ‘It will make you feel you need to act straight away or keep things secret.’
Her advice: if you receive a call claiming to be from a bank, the police, or any other organisation and you are not certain it is genuine, end the call and contact the organisation directly using a number you find through an official, trusted source. Never use a number provided by the caller themselves.
The breadth of impersonation now covers well-known consumer brands alongside official institutions. The inclusion of Amazon alongside HMRC, the police, and banks in Lloyds’ list of impersonated organisations reflects how fraudsters have expanded their targets to encompass everyday online shopping, not just high-stakes financial or government contexts. That range means there is now almost no familiar name a fraudster will not use.
