UK banks see spike in mobile fraud as scams shift from calls

New research from BioCatch has found an 11% increase in fraud and scams originating from mobile channels in the UK, as fraudsters move away from social engineering voice scams, which have declined by 34%.

The findings are based on the 2025 Digital Banking Fraud Trends in the UK report, which draws on data from a dozen different banks serving more than 110 million retail banking customers in the country.

According to the report, UK banks saw a significant rise in fraud originating from mobile devices, with mobile channel fraud now accounting for a larger proportion of criminal activity compared to previous years. Data indicates card payment fraud grew by 16% in the same period.

Tom Peacock, Director of Global Fraud Intelligence at BioCatch, said, "We continue to see results from UK banks increasing their efforts to detect social engineering scams. Unfortunately, the decrease in social engineering voice scams observed in this report likely just means all that fraud migrated elsewhere. We know, for example, card fraud has increased, as has fraud conducted from mobile devices, correlating with a 6% spike in stolen-device fraud and a recent iOS update allowing remote control of iPhones for the first time in the product's history."

Another major trend cited in the report is the rise in suspected money mule accounts. BioCatch found that UK banks reported three times as many suspected mule accounts in 2024 compared to 2023. This uptick reflects the growing challenge banks face as fraudsters increasingly recruit individuals to launder stolen money.

The report also notes a shift in the technology criminals use, with malware-based scams declining by 27% in the UK, while new techniques are emerging that exploit recent improvements in mobile platforms. For the first time, instances have been detected where fraudsters leverage remote access tools on iOS devices, enabled by recent iOS updates. In some cases, applications like FaceTime were used to facilitate remote fraud.

A case study in the report details an investment scam that operated over several months. It revealed that 90% of reported fraud payments were made while the victim was on a call, and 80% occurred on devices with multiple displays, suggesting many of these incidents involved remote access to the victim's device.

Jonathan Frost, Global Advisory Director for EMEA at BioCatch, commented, "While the decline in voice scams represents progress, if, overall, fraud is not declining in the UK, we must consider the possibility that we've displaced rather than banished fraud losses. Anticipating this possibility both buys us more time to plan and gives us the opportunity to consider all potential scenarios."

The report highlights further details about scam persistence and methods. While most investment scams typically last only a day, 16% continue for a full week and 9% extend over a month, indicating that some fraud schemes are carefully orchestrated over time.

The research attributes part of the migration in fraudulent behaviour to advances in technology and changes in user behaviour, particularly the widespread use of smartphones for banking and the impact of software updates that enable new remote control functionalities.

BioCatch's analysis demonstrates that as banks strengthen their defences against one type of fraud, criminals quickly adapt by shifting their focus to other tactics and exploiting emerging technological trends.

With the evolving nature of fraud threats, the report highlights the need for banks and consumers to remain vigilant, as criminal tactics continue to adjust in line with technological and regulatory developments within the UK's retail banking sector.