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Parents Lose Thousands to Fake School Fee Scams
22 Jan
Summary
- Scammers impersonate schools, targeting parents with fake fee payment requests.
- Victims lose an average of £3,200, with some losing up to £10,000.
- Cybercrime reports in the UK have surged by 37% over the past five years.
Fraudsters are increasingly targeting parents, particularly those with children in private schools, by impersonating the institutions in sophisticated email scams. These criminals trick parents into making fee payments to fraudulent accounts instead of the school's official channels. The average loss for affected parents is £3,200, with some experiencing losses as high as £10,000 per incident since 2020.
Private schools are identified as particularly vulnerable due to the high value of transactions involved. While many schools have fraud prevention procedures, over a third lack confidence in their fee collection security. This trend aligns with a broader increase in online fraud, with UK cybercrime reports rising by 37% in the last five years.
Retailers are also significantly impacted, with nearly half considering scaling back operations due to fraud. The total losses for retailers amounted to £1.17 billion in 2024. Experts emphasize the need for stronger coordination between financial institutions, governments, and online platforms to combat the escalating complexity and speed of fraudulent activities.
