More than £16,000 typically lost to scams, according to helpline figures

People contacting a dedicated helpline between April 2023 and March 2024 lost £13.6 million in total, the Money and Pensions Service said.

People contacting a financial scams helpline over the past year have typically lost more than £16,000, according to the Money and Pensions Service (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Archive)

People contacting a financial scams helpline over the past year have typically lost more than £16,000, according to a Government-backed body.

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) said that, between April 2023 and March 2024, the 833 people who contacted a dedicated helpline lost a total of £13.6 million.

The average loss to fraud was £16,297 per person.

Identity theft, bank account scams and digital currency investment fraud were behind some of the cases.

MaPS also said that, among people who had had a pension guidance call through its MoneyHelper service, just over seven in 10 (71%) reported feeling more confident in spotting a potential scam.

Charlotte Jackson, head of guidance services at MaPS said: “Sadly, financial crimes and scams are rife and it’s awful to see so much money being lost, but hopefully our appointments can give people more security and understanding when it comes to dealing with them in the future.”