An increased number of millennials are falling victim to scams designed to trick them into handing over cash to fraudsters than any other age group, new data from Lloyds Bank revealed.

There has been just under a four-fold increase in the number of 18 to 34-year-olds being caught out by impersonation scams in the last year, meaning that those within this age group are as likely as those aged over 55 to fall victim to such scams.

Millennials are losing an average £2,630 to these scams, while over 55s are losing more than four times as much, at £10,716, despite less of an increase in occurrence. Those in between (45 to 54) are losing £3,573 on average, while there are also more than three times as many people falling victim in this age group.

Impersonation scams most often involve someone pretending to be from the police or a bank who may ask people to quickly transfer money into a ‘safe’ account. They often say that the police suspect the person’s account is in danger or that there is a problem with their bank.

Warnings from banks can often go unheeded as fraudsters coach victims into believing that bank staff are ‘involved’ in the scam.

Furthermore, recent research from Lloyds Bank and YouGov found that one in four UK adults knew someone who had been duped by a fraudster, and one in ten have fallen victim to a financial scam at some point in their lives. Meanwhile a third claimed they have been targeted by fraudsters but were able to put a stop to it.

Commenting, Lloyds Bank retail fraud director Paul Davis said: “While we are working 24/7 behind the scenes to protect customers and millions of pounds have been frozen, every day fraudsters are trying to trick people into handing over their personal information like a PIN or password or transferring cash.”

Lloyds Bank has launched a new multi-media campaign to crack down on scams, including a new TV advert – to be aired for the first time on Monday 2 September – reminding customers that it will never ask them to move money into another account.

“Our new campaign will help people to recognise the signs by reminding them that we will never call and ask them to move money to another account. The more we all know about spotting scams, the safer we will all be,” Davis said.

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