40% of Brits who have been victims of frauds or scams in the last year haven’t been able to recover the money lost as a result, highlighting the urgent need for fraud-resistant payment methods, a new survey has revealed. 

As open banking emerges as a viable safeguard for merchants and financial institutions, research from Pay by Bank provider Yaspa shows consumers lose £765 on average to scams, with the average percentage of lost funds recovered sitting at 34%.

In the last 12 months, 16% of Brits who have experienced fraud or scams have lost between £250 and £500, while 1 in 10 have lost between £500 and £1000. Survey data revealed that the average financial loss for men was £943 – significantly higher than women, whose average came in at £476.

Younger people lost less on average, with 16-24 year olds losing an average of £284 in scams and fraudulent activity, while all other age groups lost between £750 and £900 on average. This could be in part due to younger people being more technologically savvy than their older counterparts, or that they would have less disposable income to part with. 

Financial losses were also higher in Northern Ireland, with the average amount of money lost due to fraud in the last 12 months being £2290, followed by the North East at £1337, Wales at £1285 and Greater London at £1151. 

The nationally representative survey found 35% of respondents were a victim of fraud in the last 12 months – an estimated equivalent of around 17.5 million people. Over half of Brits (54%) said they believe it is easier to scam people today than 5 years ago, compared to just 19% of respondents who disagreed and felt it is harder to do so, while 70% of respondents said they are concerned about them or a loved one becoming a victim of fraud in the next 12 months. 

According to the survey, it was online mediums that ranked the highest for the ‘most common’ occurrences of fraudulent activity, with online shopping scams, phishing emails, and Facebook Marketplace scams considered the most common according to respondents. 

Investment scams, AI or deep fake scams, and unlicensed gambling operators also ranked highly, with nearly a quarter of Brits (24%) stating they believe ticket buying for concerts and sporting events is the most common platform for fraudulent activity or scams.

When asked if the government and its agencies were doing enough to protect consumers from fraudulent activity, nearly 40% didn’t agree. Almost 1 in 2 (49%) shared that the primary responsibility for protecting consumers sits with the government, while 44% felt it should be the responsibility of banks and financial institutions. Just over a third (38%) believed responsibility should sit with the police, 37% said technology and social media companies, while 26% felt it lay with the individual. 

Nearly a third of those surveyed (33%) shared they felt the solution to tackle fraudulent activity was in improved technology for better detection. 

Highlighting Pay by Bank as an alternative technology to reduce the risk of financial loss as a result of fraud, Amie Kadhim from Yaspa shares: “Push payment fraud is one of the most damaging types of fraud today – and once the money’s gone, it’s rarely recovered. Scammers exploit the trust people place in bank transfers, highlighting the urgent need for better safeguards.

“With a background in card acquiring, I’ve seen how Pay by Bank offers a more secure alternative. Open banking, the technology behind it, moves money directly between accounts using strong customer authentication, without exposing sensitive card details or leaving gaps for fraudsters.

“With a third of respondents saying technology for fraud detection could be the best way to protect consumers against scams, other technological innovations in the payments sector could also be effective in fighting against these crimes.

As fraud tactics evolve, we must stay ahead with smarter and more secure technology – and help consumers understand which payment methods truly offer better protection. Pay by Bank does exactly that.”

A scammer reportedly drained $27,000 in life savings from a man in Arizona by pretending to be his bank representative.

An Arizona resident who wants to only be identified as Dave tells the website Moneywise.com that he received a normal-looking fraud alert from Bank of America, which questioned whether he had authorized a $399 purchase at the electronics store Best Buy.

Dave responded, saying “no,” and then reportedly received a follow-up text from the scammer with a number to call. Someone claiming to be a Bank of America (BofA) representative then told Dave over the phone that his account had been compromised and that he was being targeted by a rogue BofA employee.

The con artist told Dave to withdraw his whole bank account to protect it, and then the scammer instructed him to “secure” the cash using Apple Wallet.

Dave was then walked through creating a scannable card on his phone that was linked to the scammer’s account. The Arizona man then deposited the cash in a bank drive-through, unwittingly transferring the money to a scammer.

“This is my life savings, and I don’t have any assurances, but they sounded so real.”

Peoria Police Department Detective Michael Finney worked with Dave and froze the linked accounts, managing to recover roughly 90% of his funds in five months.

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Scammers are reportedly posing as bank fraud investigators to steal money from unsuspecting victims.

According to WPLG Local 10, the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) in Florida has issued a warning about the scheme and is urging the public to be vigilant amid rising cases of bank-related phone scams.

WPLG reports that the BSO Pompano Beach District has already received more than a dozen complaints from residents who were tricked into handing out thousands of dollars to the scammers.

Deputies say that one victim lost $15,000 to the scheme. A couple was also tricked into giving up their debit cards and personal identification numbers (PINs), resulting in more than $9,000 in fraudulent charges.

The bad actors typically contact their prospective victims, pretending to work for the fraud department of the victim’s bank.

The scammers then claim there are suspicious activities on the victim’s account that require immediate action to protect the funds. They then tell the victims to withdraw large sums of money or hand over their debit cards and PINs.

In some cases, the scammer arranges for an Uber to pick up the money or the debit card, instructing the victim to place the envelope containing these items in the backseat and not speak to the driver.

The police say that legitimate banks will not tell their clients to withdraw money and send it through a ride-share service, nor will they ask to hand over debit cards and PINs to a third party.

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Victims of a bank data breach are set to receive up to $3,000 each after a settlement was reached in a class action lawsuit.

According to the settlement administration portal, impacted customers at Arizona-based Evolve Bank & Trust who file a claim and provide documentary evidence of losses resulting from the data breach stand to receive up to $3,000.

A flat cash payment of $20 will also be available but claimants can only choose one or the other, not both.

“In addition to selection one of the Cash Payment options, Settlement Class Members may elect one (1) year of monitoring that will provide the following benefits: Credit Monitoring, real-time alerts, and insurance coverage for up to $1,000,000 for identity theft.”

Claims must be filed by October 30th. A final approval hearing of the settlement will be held on November 14th.

The lawsuit against Evolve Bank & Trust was filed in January and alleges that cybercriminals infiltrated the billion-dollar lender’s information systems and gained access to sensitive and confidential information.

In a notice to customers in July of 2024, Evolve Bank said the data breach had occurred between February and May of 2024.

“…it appears the criminals downloaded information from our databases and a file share that included names, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and contact information for most of our personal banking customers, as well as customers of our Open Banking partners. We have also learned that personal information relating to our employees was also likely affected.”

Evolve Bank & Trust, which started as First State Bank in 1925, is headquartered in West Memphis, Arizona. It boasts of around $1.6 billion in total assets and has five branches in the US.

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Hassan Shittu

Journalist

Hassan Shittu

About Author

Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in…

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June 20, 2025

A 23-year-old man was reportedly kidnapped in Maisons-Alfort, a suburb of Paris, in what marks the latest in a growing number of violent incidents linked to cryptocurrency.

According to a Thursday report by Le Parisien, the victim was abducted earlier this week and held for several hours as his captors demanded access to both cash and his Ledger wallet.

The attackers reportedly targeted the victim and his partner, forcing them into a situation that French police are now investigating as kidnapping and unlawful confinement by an organized gang.

Paris Suburb Sees Another Crypto-Linked Kidnapping as Attacks Escalate

The incident began on Tuesday morning when the young couple left their home by car. They had set out on errands. When the driver couldn’t find parking, his partner got out while he circled the neighborhood.

Minutes later, she received a message from her partner claiming he had an urgent work issue.

Unaware of the real situation, she returned home. That’s when the event quickly escalated.

Her phone rang. It was a video call. On the screen wasn’t her partner, but another man.

The person on the call demanded that she gather €5,000 in cash and a Ledger hardware wallet and place them in a bag.

“Violence was used to make him talk,” a source told Le Parisien, indicating the kidnappers had knowledge of the man’s crypto holdings.

The woman, following the instructions, waited outside her home with the bag. A third person arrived and collected it.

By 5 p.m., the victim called his partner. He had been released in the nearby town of Créteil and was on his way back. French authorities have not disclosed any details about the man’s identity or the exact amount of crypto involved.

Police from Val-de-Marne are now handling the case. A source confirmed that the woman has been handed over to the judicial police.

“This is a sensitive case,” a police official said. The Anti-Banditism Brigade has reportedly made several arrests in connection with a series of recent kidnappings targeting crypto holders.

Tuesday’s attack is the tenth such case to surface in France in recent months, raising alarm among local crypto users and law enforcement.

Investigators believe the victim was carefully selected and that the perpetrators had detailed information about his assets and routines.

Surge in Violent Crypto Kidnappings Sparks Security Concerns Across Europe and Beyond

The recent wrench attack in a Paris suburb is just the latest in a chilling trend of violent crimes targeting crypto holders in 2025.

According to data compiled by Bitcoin security advocate Jameson Lopp, at least 32 wrench attacks have occurred globally this year, nearly one-third in France alone, putting 2025 on track to surpass the previous record of 36 incidents in 2021.

The assaults are becoming more brutal and calculated. Early this month, a crypto influencer in Essonne was kidnapped and beaten after attackers demanded €50,000 in crypto. They released him after discovering his wallet was nearly empty.

In January, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and his wife were kidnapped in rural France. Balland also had a finger cut off as part of a ransom attempt. Twelve suspects were later arrested.

In one of the most harrowing cases this year, the father of a young poker player-turned-crypto trader was abducted by men posing as delivery workers. The kidnappers demanded up to €7 million and sent a video of the victim’s finger being severed. He was later rescued by police in a dramatic operation.

Other attacks have similarly targeted families of crypto executives. In May, Pierre Noizat, CEO of Paymium, narrowly avoided tragedy when a group attempted to kidnap his daughter and grandson.

That same month, authorities charged 25 suspects linked to a broader kidnapping ring across Paris.

The violence hasn’t been confined to France. In the U.S., victims in New York and Las Vegas were kidnapped at gunpoint, one of them was driven over 70 miles into the Arizona desert by assailants seeking access to his wallet.

Security experts say the increase in ransom demands, mutilation, and family targeting reflects a new phase in crypto-related crime.

Private firms like Amsterdam-based Infinite Risks International report a surge in demand from crypto executives seeking 24/7 protection.

ZkLend, a decentralized lending protocol built on Starknet, has confirmed that the hacker responsible for its February exploit lost a significant portion of the stolen funds to a phishing scam.

In an April 1 post on X, ZkLend revealed that the attacker tried to launder 2,930 ETH, worth around $5.4 million, through crypto mixer Tornado Cash.

However, instead of using the legitimate platform, the hacker mistakenly interacted with a malicious phishing site: tornadoeth[.]cash. As a result, another party successfully drained the ETH.

Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain corroborated ZkLend’s findings, confirming the loss of 2,930 ETH due to the phishing incident.

Interestingly, the hacker later sent an on-chain message to ZkLend’s deployer address, admitting the blunder. In the message, the attacker wrote:

“I tried to move funds to Tornado but used a phishing website. All the funds have been lost. I’m devastated and sorry for the havoc and losses caused. I don’t have the coins anymore.”

The hacker urged ZkLend to pursue the phishing site operators instead.

‘No connection’

This unexpected turn has fueled speculation that the original hacker and the phishing scammers might be connected, though no proof has surfaced to support that theory.

Meanwhile, ZkLend stated that the phishing website appears to have been active for over five years. The project furthered that no concrete evidence links the phishing operators to the original hacker.

Nonetheless, wallet addresses tied to the phishing site have been added to ongoing fund-tracing efforts.

The team also noted increased activity from wallets associated with the hacker. Security experts, centralized exchanges (CEXs), and relevant authorities were monitoring these movements in real-time.

ZkLend was exploited in February, with blockchain security firm Cyvers estimating the loss at approximately $9.5 million.

The protocol offered the attacker a 10% bounty if they returned the rest. However, the hacker ignored the proposal and kept the funds, prompting ZkLend to partner with security teams from Starknet, StarkWare, and Binance in a broader fund recovery effort.