The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of UK Finance or its members.

Fraud just isn’t going away. As eyewatering fraud and organised crime statistics still dominate the headlines, organisations from all sectors remain under increasing pressure to find effective ways to disrupt it. But the news is not all bad - Smartnumbers Annual Fraud Review reveals how organisations tapping into contact centre data as a source of counter-fraud intelligence are gaining traction in fighting back.

Fewer calls, more fraud

One of the richest sources of fraud intelligence sits quietly in the contact centre, where fraudsters leave traces of their activity in call data, from (often undetected) attacks on IVR (interactive voice response) systems to coordinated calls preparing accounts for takeover. The ability to tap this data source can determine whether an organisation can stop attacks early or misses them entirely.

Data from Smartnumbers Annual Fraud Review, which provides analysis of the combined call data of several leading UK retail banks, telcos and insurance companies, revealed some striking trends this year. Although calls into contact centres dropped by 5 per cent, reported fraud increased by 17.5 per cent.

Our review also found that nearly seven in ten fraudsters target more than one organisation, using automated systems to test defences and exploit weaknesses simultaneously. Fraudsters are increasingly organised, tech-enabled and often operate across multiple sectors at once.

This evolution demands an equally coordinated and collaborative response that takes contact centre activity into account.

The contact centre as a source of insight

Criminals target IVR systems for reconnaissance. Using AI-powered diallers, fraudsters can  navigate automated menus and extract customer account information in seconds. These early interactions often pave the way for later account takeovers or payment fraud.

Monitoring incoming calls into the IVR environment gives organisations an opportunity to act sooner. By identifying reconnaissance behaviour, they can stop downstream attacks - including those in other customer channels - before they escalate. In 2024, 27 per cent of fraud methods reported by Smartnumbers consortium members (users of the Smartnumbers platform) involved IVR attacks. Just one year later, and since onboarding more members, that number has jumped to 60 per cent.

Smartnumbers consortium members are getting better at uncovering fraudsters who had previously flown under the radar. Since the launch of fraudster profiles in 2024, which allows members to log, track and share structured intelligence on criminal activity between them, we have seen an almost 5x increase in the number of active criminals identified

Through this collective insight banks have been able to expose mule gangs, stop application fraud before accounts are opened, and prevent first-party fraud such as dispute and refund scams. In one example, a bank prevented £68,000 in losses by linking suspicious calls to multiple fraudulent accounts and blocking them before funds were transferred.

In other sectors, telcos are reporting success in preventing customer account takeovers and insurance firms have been able to identify and stop ghost brokers in their tracks.

Smartnumbers Chief Product and Success Officer Tim Burton explains:

“The key is to know where to look and then start digging. That’s what our clients have been doing with our help.”

Fraud is evolving into an organised, technology-driven industry. Tackling it requires the same level of collaboration and intelligence sharing that criminals already rely on. 

The insight from this year’s report shows that proactive detection in the contact centre, alongside cross-sector coordination and data-driven investigation, is central to effective fraud prevention.