Six in ten (58%) Londoners have seen an increase in financial fraud and scams attempts over the past year, higher than any other region in the UK, according to new research from global payment service provider, emerchantpay. Alongside a rise in attempts, fraudsters are increasingly targeting Londoners with personalised social media scams with more than four in ten (43%) seeing a spike over the last 12 months – above the national average of 34%. Fraudsters are increasingly using social media to target victims with scams including fake event tickets, holiday deals and phony investment schemes. Despite increased exposure, Londoners may also be taking more risks when shopping online. Only two thirds (68%) say they avoid making purchases from links shared with them on social media due to concerns around fraud, below the UK average of 75%. There are also significant concerns around the stigma of falling victim to fraud, which may lead to a reluctance to report scams. Nearly a third (29%) of Londoners say they would not report losing less than £100 to a scam, substantially higher than the national average of 17%. More than half (51%) worry about being judged if they fall victim to fraud, compared with an average of 39%. Meanwhile, there are major concerns around how AI is impacting fraud - recent figures from UK Finance reveal that criminals stole almost £1.3 billion in payment fraud during 2025. Almost six in ten (57%) Londoners believe AI is making scam attempts trickier to spot, and two thirds (66%) say they are more convincing than they used to be. With financial fraud attempts becoming more targeted, persuasive and difficult to identify, online retailers must provide Londoners with more support to keep them safe from scams. Failure to implement the necessary protections will result in reduced sales, consumer trust and ultimately growth and profit. Businesses must ensure they are offering a full range of secure payment options and tools to safeguard both their customers and their revenue. Alexander Berrai, Deputy CEO at emerchantpay, comments: “The growing sophistication of scams, particularly those enhanced by AI, is creating new challenges for consumers and businesses alike. Fraudsters are becoming increasingly effective at creating convincing and personalised communication that can be difficult to distinguish from legitimate offers for Londoners. “Whilst consumers must stay alert of the latest scams and avoid unnecessary risks, retailers must ensure that they are enhancing consumer protections and keeping shoppers safe as well. “Implementing secure payment options and robust anti-fraud tools is essential for businesses seeking to maintain customer trust, boost sales and support long-term growth.” emerchantpay is a global payment service provider (PSP) and acquirer empowering merchants through simplified and effective payments processing to deliver faster, smarter and safer payments. NoYesArtificial Intelligence25 Jun, 2026