CROOKS raked in £1.17billion from banks through payment fraud last year, figures show.
Criminals were responsible for 3.13million thefts, up 14 per cent on 2023, said UK Finance.
Greater use of stolen card details to buy items online, by phone or mail order pushed up the number of unauthorised fraud payments.
The so-called remote purchase frauds — victims are legally protected against some losses — rocketed by 22 per cent to nearly 2.6million.
Authorised push payment cases, where people are tricked into transferring money, fell by a fifth.
However, UK Finance said there was a “notable increase” in international payments being made as part of APP fraud.
It said overseas transactions were not covered by new mandatory reimbursement rules so victims were unlikely to get back their money.
Ben Donaldson, boss of UK Finance, said: “Fraud continues to blight this country. It severely harms individuals, society and our economy as the money goes to serious organised crime groups.”
Rocio Concha of consumer group Which? said: “Fraudsters continue to exploit gaps in the system.
“The Government must ensure that social media firms, search engines and telecoms firms put the right systems in place to properly protect their customers.”
She called the APP fraud fall “encouraging” but added: “The amount of money lost to this crime remains eye-watering, with devastating consequences for victims.”
Simon Read
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Premier’s chair inn
PREMIER INN owner Whitbread has turned to Severn Trent’s Christine Hodgson as its new chair.
The hotel and restaurant giant has struggled after recent closures and lower demand for rooms.
Ms Hodgson, who replaces Adam Crozier, had been chair at Severn Trent since 2020.
The water firm was recently blasted for a decision to hike consumer bills by an average 47 per cent over the next five years.
Adidas in data attack
SPORTSWEAR giant Adidas has become the latest big company to be attacked by cyber fraudsters.
It said customers’ personal information has been stolen — but that passwords, credit card information and payments-related data had not been affected.
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The company, promoted by stars including David Beckham and Lionel Messi, said hackers stole mainly the contact information of people who have dealt with its customer service desk.
Adidas said it was in the process of contacting those affected as well as data protection and law enforcement authorities.
The company apologised for “any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident”.
The attack comes after similar data breaches took place at Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods in recent weeks.
M&S said that the cyber attack — which hit the retailer around Easter time — could cost the business an estimated £300million.
Sell of a drop for houses
HOME buyers are cashing in — with sellers settling for an average £16,000 below their asking price.
Buyers also have more choice as the number of homes on the market is up 13 per cent on last year, according to the property website Zoopla.
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It said the North West is the hottest housing market for price rises in England.
Blackburn has seen a typical 5.8 per cent hike, while Wigan has seen a 4.4 per cent rise and Birkenhead a 4.1 per cent annual increase.
Zoopla’s Richard Donnell said: “We expect sales to keep rising over the second half of the year, with home values on track to be two per cent higher by the end of the year.”
Sarah Coles, of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said the Bank of England’s decision to cut interest rates to 4.25 per cent had led to more first-time buyers entering the market.
Volvo job stall
VOLVO CARS plans to axe around 3,000 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures.
The move will mainly hit office jobs in Sweden and represents around 15 per cent of its white-collar workforce.
It comes after the Chinese-owned auto maker last month announced a £1.4billion “action plan” shake-up.
Boss Håkan Samuelsson blamed the layoffs on the “challenging period” faced by the industry.
He said the “difficult decisions” were steps to build a “stronger and even more resilient” Volvo Cars.
Tesla trouble
EUROPE sales at troubled Tesla dipped by half in April.
The EV firm sold 7,261 cars in the month, down 49 per cent year on year, said the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
It faces Chinese rivalry and a backlash over boss Elon Musk’s views.
Talc a cheque?
SHARES in chemicals group Elementis jumped 12 per cent after it flogged a talc business to Italian rival IMI Fabi for £41million.
The FTSE 250 firm plans to hand most of the proceeds to investors in the form of a share buyback.
Analysts at Jefferies described the sale — part of Elementis’s plans to focus on chemicals — as “positive and long awaited”.
In the three months to March, Elementis said it delivered higher margins and profits despite a “challenging demand environment”.
