According to UK Finance, its members reported 15,000 cases between January and June 2020. Criminals raked in more than £58 million using the technique.
Impersonation scams occur when a victim pays a criminal claiming to be from a trusted organisation.
Of the 15,000 cases, more than 8,200 of them involved criminals posing as the police or as a victim’s bank. This represented a 94% rise year-on-year.
Another 6,730 cases involved fraudsters imitating other trusted organisations such as a utility company or government department.
