Average loss to impersonation scams is up by 10% in a year, says Lloyds

Impersonation scam victims lost £3,516 on average in the past year, marking a 10% increase compared with a typical loss of £3,200 a year earlier, according to data from Lloyds.

Some impersonation scams can be much more high value, with one person losing £188,000 to a police impersonation scam, the bank said.

In that case, an 85-year-old woman was persuaded to make eight purchases of gold across a five-month period, with a total loss of £188,000.

The gold was then collected by someone she believed to be an undercover police officer involved in an investigation.

Overall, the volume of impersonation scam cases reported to Lloyds has fallen by 3% over the past year compared with a year earlier.

But reports of some types of impersonation scam to Lloyds, including fraudsters pretending to be banks, the police, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), and broadband and mobile providers, have increased.

Impersonation scams often start with a phone call, text, email or social media message.

In police and bank scams, victims may be told their money is at risk and asked to move it to a “safe account”.

In some cases, criminals tell victims their own bank is involved in fraud, then coach them to lie if a genuine member of bank staff asks why they are moving money.

HMRC scams can involve messages about tax refunds to persuade people to click on a link and enter personal or financial details.

Victims of HMRC impersonation scams lost £2,288 on average over the past year, Lloyds said.

Broadband and mobile provider scams involve claims of issues with a bill, contract or internet connection, before asking for personal details or payment. The average amount lost to broadband and mobile provider impersonation scams is £1,169, according to Lloyds.

Liz Ziegler, a fraud prevention director at Lloyds, said: “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.

“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.”

She added: “A scam message is designed to rush you. It will make you feel you need to act straight away or keep things secret.”

She said if people are unsure about a phone call claiming to be from a bank, police or another organisation, they should end the call and contact the organisation directly using a trusted number.

Lloyds’ figures were based on analysis of scams reported by Lloyds Banking Group customers between July 1 2025 and June 30 2026, compared with July 1 2024 and June 30 2025.