Umair
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Fraud and scams are expected to account for around one in three new banking and loan cases dealt with by the financial ombudsman in the next financial year.
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) predicts fraud and scams will account for 35% of its incoming banking and loan cases in 2025-26, excluding credit cards and motor finance commission.
The free dispute resolution service is predicting more than 37,000 fraud and scams complaints, including cases involving authorised push payment (APP) scams and cryptocurrency fraud.
This is an increase on the 33,000 fraud and scams cases the service is forecast to have received by the end of the current financial year.
People can feel embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud or scam, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing, and nobody should be afraid to come forward
Abby Thomas, FOS
Other banking issues the service is likely to see include problems with savings accounts, short-term lending and mortgages.
Abby Thomas, chief executive and chief ombudsman at the FOS, said: “It’s concerning to see high levels of fraud and scams cases continue to come to our service.
“People can feel embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud or scam, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing, and nobody should be afraid to come forward.
“No matter how difficult a case may be, people can come with confidence to our free, independent service and we’ll investigate their complaint.”
In a recently-published consultation on its 2025-26 plans and budget, the service projected caseload levels of around 240,000 new complaints.
The service is predicting it will resolve around 270,000 cases next year, made up of both new complaints and older disputes. Budget proposals include plans to increase resources to support the progression of cases.
