ONLINE scammers are stealing £2,300 every minute in Britain, shock figures show.
Their frauds, often backed by phone calls, totalled more than £1.2billion in 2022 alone.
They were such big business that criminals are setting up professional call centres, often in West Africa.
Around 60 per cent of scams are so-called “purchase fraud” when people pay for goods — ranging from Taylor Swift gig tickets to supercars— but never receive them.
Fraud experts at NatWest told The Sun on Sunday that they get hundreds of calls each week from “devastated” victims of all ages and backgrounds.
One said: “We had someone buy an Aston Martin online for £140,000 but it never arrived — and the same thing with someone buying a Mini.”
Scammers even target house sales, monitoring emails to intercept and alter bank details.
Data from Lloyds Bank shows the biggest source of purchase scams is Facebook Marketplace.
Citizens Advice said around two in three adults are targeted by scammers, with one of the most distressing types being “romance fraud”.
Victims of any of the cons may then face “recovery scams” — where they pay out more money hoping in vain to get back the cash they have had stolen.