Latest
UK Finance reports 2025 fraud figures[4]
Criminals stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025. UK Finance's release does not break out losses from deepfakes.
Overview
Deepfake fraud: what it is and how to stop it
Criminals use cloned voices and synthetic video to pose as people you trust and get money or access moved. There is no patch to install. The defence is a set of checks that never accept a face or a voice as proof.
Last reviewed against Building, Government Office for Science (UK Government) and The Register. Sources
At a glance
- 8 million
- deepfakes shared in 2025, up from about 500,000 two years earlier, per the government[2]
- 44%
- of security leaders surveyed by Gartner reported a deepfake audio call against staff[7]
- £1.28bn
- stolen through UK payment fraud in 2025, according to UK Finance[4]
- 12%
- of UK businesses reported an impersonation breach or attack in the latest survey[6]
The latest
Deepfake fraud: what has happened so far
Newest first. Each entry links to its source.
Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 published[6]
It found 12% of businesses reported impersonation breaches or attacks, and that phishing was the most common type of attack.
Government publishes its account of the framework[2]
The Government Office for Science described tests of detection tools against impersonation, fraud and non-consensual images, with results intended to set industry standards.
The full timelineThis site follows one question for UK decision makers: how real is deepfake fraud, and what should an organisation change this month? It draws on government, UK Finance, NCSC and police guidance, one survey of security leaders and one well-documented case.
At a glance
Where the risk sits
The risk is not a flaw in your software. It sits in the moment someone acts on a request because it looked and sounded right.
A fake voice or face on a call
An employee at Arup was tricked into sending about HK$200m (roughly £20m) during a video conference with people posing as senior officers [1]. The firm described the call as using synthetic voices and pictures, and said its own systems were untouched [1]. The full story is in the fake video meeting scam.
A cloned voice by phone
Report Fraud describes criminals generating fake audio that imitates someone you know or trust, then claiming an urgent situation and asking for a payment [9]. See voice cloning scams.
The UK picture
What the figures can and cannot say
UK Finance reports that criminals stole £1.28 billion through payment fraud in 2025, up 4% [4]. Its release does not give a separate figure for deepfakes, so nobody can say from that report how much of the total they caused [4].
A Gartner survey of security leaders, reported by The Register, found 44% had seen at least one deepfake audio call against staff [7]. Of those, 6% led to business interruption, financial loss or lost intellectual property [7]. Treat that as a signal, not a UK measurement: the article does not state how many people were surveyed [7].
First move
Find the single process where a believable request could release money or access, and attach a confirmation step that uses contact details you already hold. The NCSC advises checking important requests by a second type of communication [8].
Reading on
Three useful pages
Begin with the exposure checklist to find your weak points. The defence plan puts the work in order, and the questions page answers the queries readers raise most often.
What to do
Four things to do first
-
1
Add a second check to payments and bank detail changes
Finance and procurement teams
-
2
Call back on a number you already know
All staff, especially finance, HR and the service desk
-
3
Verify important requests by a second type of communication
Managers and security leads
-
4
Make it safe to stop and ask
Directors and managers
There are six steps in all, with who does each one. See every step
Am I affected?
Answer a few questions
Check if you are affected
Answer three questions about how money and access move in your organisation. Nothing you answer leaves this page.
Could a payment, or a change to a payee's bank details, go ahead on the strength of a phone call, voice note or video meeting alone?
Quick answers
Questions people ask
What is deepfake fraud?
It is fraud that uses a fake voice, image or video to impersonate someone you trust and get money or access. The UK government says criminals use deepfakes to trick people into paying money[2]. In the Arup case, the people on a video call were fakes[1].
How did the Arup deepfake fraud work?
A worker at Arup transferred about HK$200m (about £20m) during a video conference with people posing as senior officers[1]. The firm stated that no internal system of its own was compromised, and that synthetic voices and pictures were involved[1].
About this site
Primary sources, dated
The CyPro Consulting Ltd team maintains this site. Every version, date and figure comes from 8 named sources, including Building, Government Office for Science (UK Government), The Register, and links to the one it came from. Last checked 4 November 2026.
Who we are and how pages are kept currentStart here
The guides, in the order to read them
Am I exposed?
A practical checklist for UK organisations to see which payments, resets and calls could be hijacked by a cloned voice or fake video call.
Read the guide
How to stop it
An ordered plan to stop deepfake fraud: second-channel checks, call-backs, blame-free reporting, rehearsals and a ready response if money has moved.
Read the guide
Timeline
A dated, sourced timeline of deepfake fraud for UK organisations, from the Arup video call case in 2024 to UK Finance's 2026 fraud figures.
Read the guide
Questions
Sourced answers on deepfake fraud: how it works, the Arup case, how common it is, how to verify requests and what to do if money has been sent.
Read the guideGo deeper
In depth Video call fraud 
In depth Voice cloning 
In depth Payment checks 
In depth Spotting a fake 
In depth If money has gone 
Question What is it? 
Question How common? 
Question Detection How CyPro can help
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