GeraGuard · Fraud
Advance fee fraud
Advance fee fraud is when you are asked to pay an upfront fee — a tax, release charge, processing fee or deposit — to unlock a larger promised benefit such as a prize, inheritance, loan or job that never materialises.
Quick answer
The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 381,000 incidents of advance fee fraud in year ending March 2025 — about 7.9% of all fraud and computer-misuse incidents that year.
381,000
Estimated incidents · Fraud · year ending March 2025
How to protect yourself
- A legitimate prize, inheritance, loan or job never requires you to pay money first.
- Be suspicious of unexpected wins or windfalls, especially from people or organisations you did not contact.
- Never send money or gift cards to release a promised sum.
- Verify any company independently via Companies House or its official website before paying anything.
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How common is advance fee fraud in the UK?
The ONS Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated about 381,000 incidents of advance fee fraud in year ending March 2025 — around 7.9% of all fraud and computer-misuse incidents measured that year.
What is advance fee fraud?
Advance fee fraud is when you are asked to pay an upfront fee — a tax, release charge, processing fee or deposit — to unlock a larger promised benefit such as a prize, inheritance, loan or job that never materialises.
Where does this figure come from?
Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), fraud and computer misuse. fraudandcomputermisuseappendixtablesyemarch25final.xlsx (Tables 1 and 2), reference period April 2024 to March 2025, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3). Retrieved 2026-06-27.
Other offence types
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) — Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), fraud and computer misuse. fraudandcomputermisuseappendixtablesyemarch25final.xlsx (Tables 1 and 2), reference period April 2024 to March 2025.
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (OGL v3) © Crown copyright. Data retrieved: .