New data from Santander UK’s Scamtracker has revealed the devastating cost of fraud on male customers, who have had £22 million stolen by scammers in the first half of 2026, 50% higher than the figure reported by women (£14 million).

Santander’s quarterly Scamtracker, which charts volumes, values and trends in authorised push payment scams, found that men handed over the equivalent of £100,000 to scammers every day during the first six months of the year, with the biggest hitters by value being investment and purchase scams.

The bank’s data shows an alarming £14 million stolen from male account holders through investment scams over the last six months, more than double the amount reported by female customers in the same period (£6 million). Among those investment scams reported, cryptocurrency and property proved some of the most frequent investment opportunities that resulted in scams being reported.

The second biggest hitter was purchase scams, with men reporting over £4 million worth of scams after attempting to buy something that did not then exist or was fundamentally different to how it was advertised. The source of these scams were: Facebook (23% of cases), WhatsApp (9%), TikTok (5%), and Instagram (4%), with other customers reporting the scam begin on Autotrader, Gumtree, VivaStreet, Checkatrade and Amazon.

Men have also reported over £1 million stolen through impersonation scams: one in 10 of which were “Hi Dad” impersonation scams, where fraudsters targeted potential victims via WhatsApp, text or an AI-generated phone call, pretending to be their child requesting money or to make a payment.

Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Risk Management at Santander UK said: “As a parent myself, I know how busy life gets – juggling kids, work and a social life – and fraudsters often target people when they know they might not have time to properly consider what they’re being asked to do. Whether it’s an investment opportunity that sounds too good to be true, or a text or phone call out of the blue from your child asking for money, we are urging people to stay alert and stay safe ahead of this Father’s Day.”

Tips to stay alert and avoid falling for scams:

• Always take time to think before making a payment, especially if it’s a large amount of money. Speak to someone you trust first, like a friend or family member.
• Pay extra attention to the warnings provided when making a payment. They’re in place to help you bank safely and avoid being scammed.
• Always take time to complete extra checksbefore paying for goods online. This is to make sure the person and the payment are genuine. This can be reading reviews, researching companies or websites, and checking the person or company is who they say they are.
• Anyone can be easily impersonated, and criminals can make the caller ID, email address or name look exactly like the genuine caller. If you get an email, text or call, check it’s genuine by phoning them back on a known and trusted number.
• Don’t allow anyone remote access to your devices. Criminals can ask you to click on a link or download an app which will give them control over your device.