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City of London Police said romance fraudsters stole £102 million from UK victims in 2025 across 10,784 reports filed through the Report Fraud service, a 29 percent increase year over year. Average losses were about £9,500 per victim, with some cases reaching £1 million, as offenders built emotional trust over time before requesting money for fabricated travel, medical, or other urgent expenses.
Older adults were hit hardest financially, with nearly half of total losses borne by people aged 55 to 74. Men submitted the highest number of reports, while women suffered the greatest monetary losses. Authorities warned that romance fraud causes both financial and emotional harm and noted that, while the crime remains smaller in the UK than categories such as banking, investment, and online shopping fraud, comparable losses in the United States were far higher, with the FBI IC3 estimating $929.4 million lost to romance scams in 2025.
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ShinyHunters set a May 6 deadline for Cushman & Wakefield to make contact in order to prevent publication of the allegedly stolen data. The ultimatum followed the group's claim that it had exfiltrated more than 500,000 Salesforce records.
City of London Police publicly reported that romance fraud cost UK victims £102 million in 2025 and highlighted the emotional and financial harm caused by offenders who build trust before requesting money. The announcement also noted average losses of about £9,500 per victim, with some cases reaching £1 million.
Cushman & Wakefield confirmed a limited data security incident caused by vishing and said it had activated incident response protocols, contained unauthorized activity, and engaged third-party experts. The company said systems and operations continued to run normally while the investigation proceeded.
The Qilin ransomware group added Cushman & Wakefield to its leak site on May 4, claiming responsibility for an attack but not describing its intrusion method. Reporting noted there was no known link proving coordination with ShinyHunters.
ShinyHunters told The Register it attacked Cushman & Wakefield on May 1 and claimed to have stolen more than 500,000 Salesforce records containing personally identifiable information and internal corporate data. The claim was presented as part of a broader campaign linked to Salesforce-focused intrusions.
City of London Police said romance fraudsters stole £102 million from UK victims during 2025, based on 10,784 reports submitted through the Report Fraud service. The force said reports were up 29 percent year over year, with older victims disproportionately affected.
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Courier fraud operations in the UK caused more than **£21 million** in losses in 2025, with City of London Police data showing people over 70 were disproportionately targeted and London and the Home Counties seeing the highest concentration of offenses. The scams typically involve criminals impersonating banks or police over phone calls, email, text messages, or **WhatsApp**, then coercing victims into surrendering bank cards, cash, or other valuables to couriers. Authorities said the campaigns have evolved into a hybrid cyber-physical fraud model that increasingly targets high-value goods such as **gold** and luxury jewellery, sometimes directing victims to buy items from multiple retailers before collection. Investigators also reported growing abuse of legitimate third-party courier services booked remotely, a tactic that reduces offender exposure and complicates detection. Recent enforcement actions included arrests in **Huddersfield** and **Manchester** in July 2026 and a June 2026 sentencing linked to a 2022 cross-country fraud ring that stole **£56,000** from 14 victims, underscoring the nationwide persistence of the scheme.
Aug 12, 2026
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported more than **1,008,597** cybercrime complaints in 2025, with cyber-enabled fraud driving **$17.6 billion** in losses and accounting for **85%** of all reported losses. **Investment fraud** caused the most damage at **$8.6 billion**, followed by **business email compromise** at more than **$3 billion** and **tech support fraud** at **$2.1 billion**. Older adults were hit especially hard, with people aged 60 and above filing **201,266** complaints tied to about **$7.7 billion** in losses, while California, Texas, and Florida recorded the highest complaint volumes. Cryptocurrency-related crime was a major driver of the surge, with Americans reporting **$11.4 billion** in crypto scam losses across **181,565** complaints, up **22%** from the prior year. The FBI said many cryptocurrency investment scams are sophisticated, long-running schemes linked to organized criminal enterprises in Southeast Asia that use trafficked people as forced labor. The bureau also warned that ransomware remained a persistent threat, investigating more than **200** ransomware variants, actors, and enablers after identifying **63** new variants; ransomware complaints rose to **3,611** with more than **$32 million** in losses, and attacks affected **14 of 16** U.S. critical infrastructure sectors.
Jun 29, 2026
UK fraud losses climbed sharply in the first half of 2026 as criminals increasingly used social media platforms rather than email to find and manipulate victims. Reporting cited a suspected **£153 million HMRC tax fraud** linked to TikTok, major fraud exposure on Meta platforms highlighted by Lloyds Bank, and record **£221.5 million** in UK investment scam losses reported by UK Finance, underscoring how platform-specific lures, impersonation, and AI-enabled scaling are reshaping online fraud. Authorities also linked the trend to cross-border criminal operations targeting UK victims through fake social media accounts. The UK National Crime Agency said fraud suspects were arrested in Nigeria after intelligence sharing tied to an investment scam operation, illustrating how overseas networks used fraudulent Facebook personas and other social channels to run scams against people in the UK while law enforcement pursued international disruption efforts.
Jul 29, 2026