Scams hit half of UK adults in 2025: Barclays
New data from Barclays shows that almost half of UK adults (45%) have been targeted by a scam this year, rising to nearly two-thirds of Gen Z (64%).
The data, which tracks Barclays’ own proprietary scam data from across personal current accounts, also shows the rapid rise of investment scams, and why 2025 has seen SMS/text scams return with a vengeance.
The data shows that investment scams accounted for almost half (47%) of the total value of claims in 2025. That represents an increase of eight percentage points from 2024’s figure of 39%, and a substantial increase from 2023, where the number stood at 32%.
Investment scams are defined as scams which begin when fraudsters misuse the name of real investment professionals or firms to create the appearance of legitimacy. 35% of these originated in social media in 2025, with 42% of those who admit that they acted on social media investment content admit to losing money as a result.
As well as the rise of investment scams, another of 2025’s trends has been continued role of so-called ‘finfluencers’.
‘Finfluencers’, influencers who use social media to offer financial guidance to their followers, undoubtedly play an important role in making investing more relatable and accessible, helping would-be investors gain the necessary confidence to get started.
But, there are also long-standing concerns about their ability to broadcast and post without oversight or regulation.
Almost one in four (24%) investors say they feel under pressure to act quickly on unsolicited advice from ‘finfluencers’, often mistaking displays of wealth for credibility. That figure doubles to 48% among Gen Z (18-27), while Barclays data shows average monthly reports of investment scams among this age group have increased 28% year-on-year.
Despite investment scams’ growing share of the overall value of claims, they represent 7% of the volume reports overall in 2025, up from just 5.5% per cent in 2024.
Purchase scams, which takes place when someone is tricked into buying something which doesn’t exist or is different to what was described, made up the greatest share of claims, at 71%.
“Once again, scammers adopted new tactics this year and as a result we saw a shift in the nature of scams reported by our customers. While the volume of investment scam reports fell, the total value went up, showing fraudsters targeted victims with high stakes opportunities,” said Kirsty Adams, Fraud & Scams Expert at Barclays.
“Meanwhile we witnessed the resurgence of text scams, as trust in online channels eroded. There’s no doubt that scammers will take attempt to take advantage of shoppers in the Christmas and Boxing Day sales, so even as the year draws to a close, we’re urging people to remain vigilant.”
