Credit card fraud drives surge in repeat UK offenders

Credit card fraud now shows the highest repeat-offending rate among major financial products in the UK, with nearly a quarter of identified perpetrators going on to offend again, according to new analysis by fraud analytics firm Synectics Solutions.

The company’s review of data from National SIRA, a shared intelligence consortium used by financial firms, found that 23% of individuals involved in credit card-related fraud later reoffend. The repeat rate has risen from 17% in five years. Most of the cases involve fraudulent applications rather than transactional misuse.

Synectics reported that repeat fraudsters now target a broader spread of financial institutions. Offenders are attacking 50% more organisations than they did five years ago, with a 10% increase in the past year alone, indicating more mobile and persistent behaviour across the sector.

National SIRA collects and shares information on confirmed fraud, suspicious activity, and genuine customers across participating firms. The consortium is now seeing repeat offenders move between providers and across product types in structured patterns.

Synectics’ analysis of offender journeys indicates that many repeat fraudsters follow a three-stage progression. Most begin with current accounts. They use these as testing grounds for false applications or synthetic identities.

They then typically move into credit card applications. These products offer higher limits and transactional flexibility, which can give offenders larger potential financial returns.

In the final stage, many shift into savings accounts or other investment-style products. They use these to store or launder proceeds from earlier fraud.

Credit cards also feature heavily at the start of some journeys. Synectics said that credit cards are the second most common starting point for fraud careers. The products therefore play a dual role as both entry-level and mid-stage targets.

Chris Lewis, Director, Strategic Solutions & Analytics at Synectics, said financial firms now face a more fragmented threat landscape as fraudsters move between providers more frequently.

“This data is clearly a concern. The challenge banks and credit providers face is compounded by the fact that repeat offenders aren't exactly fans of brand loyalty. They are now hitting 50% more financial institutions than they were five years ago - a 10% rise since last year alone. It's a stark reminder of how essential shared intelligence has become in stopping career fraudsters. Across products and across institutions,” said Lewis, Director, Strategic Solutions & Analytics, Synectics.

The research identifies false identity fraud as the most common offence among repeat perpetrators. Synectics linked this trend to increased use of synthetic and partially synthetic identities in application processes.

The firm said that half of all false identity filings in National SIRA are associated with individuals who have used at least one other false identity. This indicates repeated use of fabricated or manipulated identities by the same offenders.

Within identity fraud, the company highlighted a rise in what it calls “fractional deviation fraud”. Offenders hijack genuine identities and change small details such as addresses or dates. They often draw on information from public sources such as Companies House. These small changes can allow applications to pass basic checks while masking the underlying identity theft.

Lewis said the patterns around identity manipulation show a move away from isolated attempts and towards structured schemes.

“When 50% of all false identity filings are tied to an individual with a history of creating multiple fake IDs, this is no longer just a case of 'one-off' application fraud - it's a sign of organised, repeatable schemes designed to evade detection. Combine this with the fact that synthetic identities are quickly becoming the dominant vehicle for fraud, and it's clear that traditional, siloed checks are not enough,” said Lewis.

He said firms still rely heavily on checks at the point when a customer first applies for a product. He argued that these controls now need additional, ongoing layers.

“Fraud strategy needs to evolve. Onboarding checks will always be crucial, with conditional friction particularly advisable where IDs are at high risk of hijacking, but our data shows there is a clear need to supplement this with dynamic identity verification throughout the customer lifecycle. Without this, for example, spotting the point at which a 'good ID turns bad' becomes extremely difficult,” said Lewis.

Synectics said its findings illustrate the pressure on banks, lenders and other financial institutions as offenders grow more organised and look for weaknesses in unconnected systems.

Lewis pointed to a gap between the way repeat fraudsters operate across multiple providers and the way many institutions still assess risk in isolation.

“Most importantly, we must tap into cross-institution intelligence and data sharing. Only by pooling information can we uncover the hidden links and patterns of synthetic ID fraud that no single institution can detect alone,” said Lewis.