UK victims lost £2.4m every day to investment fraud in 2025, according to new figures published by the City of London Police.
The figure is equivalent to losses of £1,675 a minute.
Criminals stole £879.8m through investment fraud last year, the data shows.
During 2025 some 34,673 people reported investment fraud to Report Fraud, the national service that replaced Action Fraud in December. That was a 31% rise on the previous year, with police warning that fraudsters are taking advantage of economic uncertainty, volatile markets and increasingly convincing online platforms to lure in victims.
The rise in reporting is not only linked to an increase in investment fraud, but also due to the point at which victims realise what has happened. Police said reports began climbing steadily from March and spiked in July and September when many reviewed investments, moved money into new products or checked their returns ahead of the new financial year.
For thousands of victims, it was only at that point that the truth became clear, the police said: the investment they were sold never existed. Losses averaged £25,612 per person, often representing pension savings or long‑term investments.
Detective Superintendent Oliver Little, from the lead force operations room at the City of London Police, said: “Investment fraud continues to have a devastating impact on victims, many of whom lose life‑changing amounts of money. Criminals are using professional‑looking websites, persuasive sales tactics and even cloned branding from real financial firms to appear legitimate.
“We’re urging the public to take their time, carry out proper checks and get independent financial advice before parting with any money.”
Investment fraud last year ranged from bogus online trading platforms to fake bond schemes, cryptocurrency opportunities and glossy social‑media adverts that appeared to feature well‑known public figures.
The police said criminals now deploy AI‑manipulated videos, deepfake endorsements and cloned websites to draw victims in, echoing patterns seen across the wider fraud landscape.
Another growing problem is “recovery fraud”, where criminals return to previous victims while posing as law enforcement, lawyers or specialist recovery firms. They promise to retrieve stolen money but instead charge upfront fees and disappear.
Police officers have also seen a rise in “finfluencers” - predominantly young male personalities who boast about making “easy money” on high‑risk trading platforms, particularly those linked to forex and rapid‑turnover investments.
Their content often glamorises quick wins, luxury lifestyles and aggressive self‑improvement narratives. While not all of the personalities are involved in criminal activity, their posts can create a false sense of legitimacy around speculative trading and make inexperienced followers more vulnerable to opportunistic scammers who mimic the same language, style and promises, the police warned.
In February seven social media ‘finfluencers’ was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for their role in promoting an unauthorised foreign exchange trading scheme.
The case was brought by the FCA, which said: “These influencers betrayed the trust of those who followed them. We’ll continue to work with responsible influencers and go after those who put the financial wellbeing of their followers at risk.”