Santander UK is today launching its latest ‘Santander Quarterly Scamtracker’, which shows that a total of £15.5 million was stolen from customers between October and December 2025. Throughout 2025, the bank saw more than £66.5 million stolen from customers in APP (Authorised Push Payment) scams.

The Scamtracker results for October to December 2025 show the biggest amounts were stolen from customers via investment scams, with more than £8 million taken in the three-month period. Customers aged 45+ were particularly at risk from these types of scams, accounting for more than £7 million – nearly £9 in every £10 stolen in an investment scam between October and December. Across the year investment scams have accounted for more than £30 million stolen – almost half the total amount stolen from Santander customers in 2025.

Purchase scams also remained prevalent, with criminals stealing a further £3 million in the last three months of the year. Customers looking to purchase vehicles or pay for building work were particularly targeted this quarter – with scammers using this to steal more than £2 million. Throughout the year, Santander has highlighted the risk of purchase scams with criminals selling items from fake gig tickets through to beauty products and weight loss jobs. In total, more than £15.5 million has been stolen in 2025 via purchase scams.

Chris Ainsley, Head of Fraud Risk Management at Santander UK said:

“£66.5 million is a shocking amount to see disappear from accounts and fall into the hands of the criminals who carry out these scams. Throughout the year we have focused on empowering our customers with the knowledge they need to stop the scammers in their tracks – a focus that will continue into 2026.

“Our latest warning as we head into January is around online job ads and promises of money for watching or “liking” Tik Tok videos, often with the need to pay an upfront fee to get started. The job doesn’t exist and rather than making money, customers will find they’ve lost out to a scammer.”

One to watch

Data from Santander has highlighted cases where customers have been approached by scammers offering money for “liking” and watching videos, often on TikTok. The scammers will ask customers for an “advance fee” to secure the job, before disappearing with their money. In Q4 2025, more than £95,000 was stolen by criminals offering jobs online, with a third of this (£31,000) originating on TikTok.

The bank is urging consumer to be wary in January as many of us take the time to re-evaluate our finances and look for ways to make extra money to cover the cost of Christmas. Customers are urged to be on the look-out for any requests for upfront payments to start a new “job” – a sure sign of a scam.