Annual Fraud Report 2025: £1.17 B Stolen in 2024
In the latest UK Finance report (in partnership with BioCatch), criminals stole £1.17 billion through unauthorised and authorised fraud in 2024, broadly unchanged from 2023 – while banks prevented £1.45 billion of attempted losses. Unauthorised fraud cases rose 14% to 3.13 million, costing £722 million (+2%), driven by a 22% increase in remote purchase fraud. APP fraud losses fell 2% to £450.7 million with cases down 20%, but investment fraud surged 34% to £144.4 million. Victims saw £267.1 million (59%) of APP losses reimbursed under new PSR rules.
Data Governance Must Extend Beyond Compliance
A recent panel at the Global RegTech Summit emphasised that a strong culture of data governance and accountability must permeate the entire organisation, rather than be siloed in compliance. Panelists highlighted that executive buy-in, cross-team collaboration, and dedicated data stewards in each business unit are essential to uphold data quality, integrity, and trust. They urged firms to embed governance into everyday processes via automated metadata management and risk-based controls, turning data governance from a mere checkbox exercise into a strategic, enterprise-wide asset.
Tanzania’s $4.5M Digital ID Pilot for Minors
Tanzania’s Home Affairs Minister Innocent Bashungwa announced the allocation of TZS 11.34 billion (US $4.5 million) for a digital ID pilot targeting 235,826 minors in the Zanzibar, Iringa and Mbeya regions ahead of a nationwide rollout in the 2026/2027 financial year – the pilot will issue a Unique Number ID at birth via integrated birth registration and NIDA portals to streamline access to services and replace multiple sectorial ID cards.
France Blocks Porn Sites Over Failed Age Checks
France’s regulator ARCOM has begun blocking access to Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube after they missed the 1 June 2025 deadline to implement legally required age-verification measures. Internet service providers now enforce DNS-level blocking for these non-compliant sites, aiming to protect minors until robust verification such as credit-card checks or certified identity services is in place. Additional adult platforms will face similar actions if they fail to meet upcoming compliance deadlines.
Regula Recognised as Pioneer in Biometric Age Assurance
Regula, a global developer of forensic and identity verification solutions, has been named a Pioneer in the 2025 UK Online Biometric Age Assurance Market Report and Buyers Guide, which highlights its innovative biometric verification technology, especially the Document Reader SDK backed by the world’s largest ID template database, delivering accurate, fraud-proof age checks that meet the UK’s Online Safety Act requirements. The UK market for biometric age assurance solutions is projected to surpass £202 million by 2027.
‘Rich and naive’: why Singapore is engulfed in a ‘scamdemic’
Singapore saw $1.1 billion lost to online scams in 2024 – a 70% increase over 2023 – as its affluent, digitally-savvy residents became prime targets for romance, job, e-commerce and impersonation scams originating from criminal call centres that deploy AI and deepfakes to deceive victims. Banks are introducing transaction friction and authorities have even discussed caning, yet scammers continue to exploit social media platforms to carry out fraud. Experts warn any unsolicited money request should be treated as a major red flag.
Data Watchdog Fines €550,000 Over PSC Facial Recognition Breach
The Data Protection Commission has fined the Department of Social Protection €550,000 for GDPR breaches in its SAFE 2 registration process for the Public Services Card using facial recognition – finding failures to identify a valid lawful basis, to limit biometric data retention, and to provide transparent information to users. The DPC has ordered the DSP to cease biometric processing within nine months if no lawful basis is established; no security weaknesses or user harm were detected, and the DSP will review the decision with the Attorney General’s Office.