5.4 Million UK Bank Accounts at Potential Risk of Undetected Fraud

New research from TotallyMoney and Moneycomms reveals 1 in 12 Brits wouldn’t notice a rogue £20 entry on their bank statement, potentially costing a total of £108m.

• 1 in 12 (5.4 million*) people wouldn’t spot a rogue £20 entry on their main current account
• Assuming each person has one bank account, losses could be up to £108m
• 1 in 7 people only check their bank account once per month — or less
• 50% of people haven’t got their free credit report, an easy way to detect possible fraudulent activity
• To help customers stay alert to fraud, TotallyMoney has created a simple five-step plan.

Online statements and mobile banking apps make it easy to check your account. But, people don’t always pick up on some signs of possible fraud.

Recent survey results show that 1 in 12 people wouldn’t spot a rouge £20 entry on their statement.

There are 65 million active personal current accounts in the UK. So, assuming one person owns only one account, a staggering £108m, across 5.4 million bank accounts, could potentially be lost.

Banks and lenders are under increasingly more pressure to up their security. In the meantime, there are some things you yourself can do to detect fraud — and limit potential loss.

Alastair Douglas, CEO of credit experts TotallyMoney, said: “For some people, a £20 transaction they don’t recognise isn’t the end of the world. But, it could be tell-tale of a bigger issue.

“In the past, we had to rely on monthly paper bank statements. Now, thanks to mobile apps, our bank accounts are at our fingertips, making it easier than ever to check our outgoings.

“Spotting and reporting anything you don’t recognise — no matter how small — could stop an incident of fraud in its tracks.

“Another way to keep an eye out for fraud is by getting your TotallyMoney free credit report. You can see any financial activity made in your name, as well as see your balances and payments — so you can spot and report anything you don’t recognise.

“To make it easier to spot any of the potential signs of fraud, we’ve pulled together some of the best ways to get in the know.”

The TotallyMoney five-step plan

1. Use Online Banking
   Download your bank’s mobile app, or use online banking, to check your statement every couple of days. You can often even set up alerts to get notified every time a transaction is made.
2. Hold on to Receipts
   Keep tabs of your contactless card transactions, by keeping the paper receipts until the money is taken out of your account.
3. Check your Direct Debits
   Be aware of future direct debits and regular payments due before payday, so you know how much ‘spare spending money’ you’ve got available — a good way to avoid hefty overdraft charges, too.
4. Review your Statements
   Don’t ignore your monthly credit card and bank statements. Check that everything is as you’d expect.
5. Check your Free Credit Report
   Ensure you recognise everything on your credit report — especially credit searches.

Calculations & methodology
*According to the CMA personal current accounts market study update in July 2014 there are 65 million active personal current accounts in the UK – TotallyMoney research via YouGov 11-16 April 2019 revealed that 1 in 12 people wouldn’t spot a £20 rogue entry on their bank account – 1 in 12 of 65 million = 5.4 million; assuming 1 person has 1 bank account.

About TotallyMoney
TotallyMoney has been championing fairer and better consumer credit since 2007 by helping customers make smart borrowing decisions. We won Best Free Credit Report Provider in the 2018 Moneynet Personal Finance Awards and since its launch in 2017 our Free Credit Report has already put more than one million customers in control of their credit data.