A UK bank has revealed which scams are hitting each age group the hardest.
Santander has seen an increase in the over-80s and those under 34 years of age reporting scams in the first three months of the year.
According to the data, scams of over-80s have jumped by 7% compared with the previous quarter, largely due to a rise in bank impersonation scams.
Among 18 to 34 year olds, there has been a 6% increase in scam reports, which can be explained by a rise of scammers using fake tickets and online event ticket selling platforms.
The figures were released as part of Santander’s new “Scamtracker” report, which found that £18.4 million was stolen from its customers between January and March this year.
Although there was an overall 13 percent decrease in scams on the previous four months, the bank noticed some “worrying trends” in the data.
Santander’s research revealed that impersonation scams, advance fee scams and romance or friendship scams made up the top rising money stealing schemes in the first quarter of the year – resulting in £3.5 million stolen from customers.
Despite the rise in scams, the bank found that over half of consumers say they’re aware of romance and friendship scams (63%) and impersonation scams (49%)
However, less than a fifth of people are clued up about advance fee scams – where people pay in advance for items or services that never arrive or are low quality.
During the first few months of 2025, gig ticket fraud made up 10 percent of all purchase scam claims, with scammers cashing in on fans chasing tickets for acts like Sabrina Carpenter and Coldplay.
Chris Ainsley, head of fraud risk management at Santander UK, said: “While a decrease in the amount stolen by scammers is welcome, £18 million is a staggering amount to have been taken from our customers and placed into the criminal underworld.”
“Scams are evolving at breakneck speed, which can make staying on top of the new ones exceptionally hard for customers.”
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact National Fraud Helpline. Call 0333 0033218 or fill out our Claim Form.