East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Statistics

East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Key Insights

• Consumer fraud is the East Midlands' most common cyber crime – Accounting for 38.8% of all reports (6.4k incidents), consumer fraud remains the dominant cyber crime category across the region. Although the average loss per victim is £2.5k, its high reporting volume resulted in £16.4 million in total losses, demonstrating how large-scale scams continue to inflict substantial financial harm.
• Investment fraud generates the majority of financial losses from relatively few reports – Investment fraud represents just 7.4% of reported incidents (1.2k), yet accounts for 57.9% of all reported losses (£38.7m). With an average loss of £31.3k per report, it is the most financially damaging cyber crime by a considerable margin.
• Cyber dependent crime is widespread but rarely driven by direct financial theft – Making up 24.5% of reports (4.1k incidents), cyber dependent crime is the second most common offence in the East Midlands. However, it accounts for only 0.6% of financial losses (£374.9k), suggesting these attacks are more likely to result in operational disruption, compromised systems or stolen data than immediate financial loss.
• Financially motivated fraud dominates the regional cyber crime landscape – Consumer, banking and investment fraud account for 57.1% of all reports, yet together they are responsible for 91.4% of all reported financial losses. The data demonstrates that crimes targeting money remain the defining feature of cyber crime across the East Midlands.
• The most common cyber crimes are not the most expensive – Consumer fraud generates the highest number of reports, while investment fraud produces the greatest financial losses despite far fewer incidents. This contrast highlights two distinct criminal strategies: high-volume scams designed to reach as many victims as possible, and lower-volume attacks focused on securing significantly larger financial returns.

Individuals

• Consumer fraud remains the most widespread cyber crime affecting individuals – Accounting for 38.8% of all reports (6.2k incidents), consumer fraud is the most frequently reported offence in the East Midlands. It also resulted in £13.5 million in losses, demonstrating that while individual losses are often moderate, the sheer scale of attacks makes it the region's most prevalent cyber crime.
• Investment fraud causes the greatest financial damage despite relatively few reports – Representing just 7.7% of reports (1.2k incidents), investment fraud accounted for 51.8% of all reported losses (£24.2m). With an average loss of £19.8k per victim, it remains the most financially devastating cyber crime affecting individuals.
• The age groups reporting the most crime are not those losing the most money – Adults aged 30–39 recorded the highest number of reports (3.1k), yet individuals aged 50–59 (£10.9m) and 60–69 (£9.4m) experienced the greatest financial losses. This highlights the difference between the frequency of attacks and their financial impact.
• Financial losses increase significantly from the age of 50 – Average losses rise from £1.3k per report among people aged 20–29 to more than £4k per report across every age group from 50–79. Although cyber crime affects adults of all ages, successful attacks against older victims tend to result in substantially greater financial losses.
• Cyber crime combines high-volume attacks with high-value fraud – Consumer fraud and cyber dependent crime account for 63.7% of all individual reports, while investment fraud alone accounts for more than half of all money lost. The data shows that the crimes affecting the greatest number of people are not necessarily those causing the greatest financial harm.

Organisations

• Financial fraud dominates cyber crime affecting organisations – Banking and consumer fraud account for 81.5% of all organisational reports, demonstrating that criminals overwhelmingly target business finances, payment processes and commercial transactions. Together, these offences represent the most common cyber threats facing organisations across the East Midlands.
• Investment fraud delivers the greatest financial impact despite its rarity – Although investment fraud represents just 2% of reports (15 incidents), it accounts for 72% of all reported losses (£14.5m). With an average loss of £966.7k per incident, it is by far the most financially damaging cyber crime affecting organisations in the region.
• Limited companies bear the overwhelming majority of organisational cyber crime – Limited companies account for 74.3% of reports (542 incidents) and 93.8% of all reported financial losses (£18.9m). The data shows that incorporated businesses remain the primary targets for financially motivated cyber criminals.
• High-frequency crimes are not always the most costly – Banking fraud is the most frequently reported organisational cyber crime (44.4%), yet investment fraud generates six times more financial losses despite accounting for only 15 reported incidents. The data highlights the difference between attacks designed for scale and those focused on maximum financial return.
• A small number of crime types account for almost all organisational losses – Investment, consumer and banking fraud together represent 98.3% of all reported financial losses affecting organisations in the East Midlands. This concentration suggests that the greatest financial risks continue to stem from attacks targeting business finances, investments and payment systems, rather than technically focused cyber attacks.

East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Statistics Breakdown

Crime Types

By report volume

Insights for Report Volume

• Consumer fraud remains the dominant cyber crime category – Accounting for 38.8% of all reports (6.4k), consumer fraud is by far the most frequently reported offence across the East Midlands. Its lead over every other category demonstrates that criminals continue to rely on high-volume scams targeting individuals through online shopping, marketplaces and phishing campaigns.
• Cyber dependent crime represents almost a quarter of all reported incidents – With 24.5% of reports (4.1k), cyber dependent crime remains the second largest category. Offences such as hacking, malware and ransomware continue to pose a significant threat, highlighting that attacks requiring direct technical compromise remain commonplace across the region.
• Advance fee fraud continues to generate significant reporting volumes – Making up 17.9% of reports (3k), advance fee fraud remains one of the most prevalent fraud types in the East Midlands. Despite being a long-established tactic, its consistent reporting suggests criminals continue to exploit trust, urgency and low-cost mass distribution to reach victims.
• Banking and investment fraud represent fewer incidents but remain important financial crime categories – Banking fraud accounts for 10.9% of reports (1.8k), while investment fraud contributes 7.4% (1.2k). Although they represent a smaller proportion of reported offences than consumer fraud, together they account for more than 3,000 reported incidents, demonstrating that financially motivated scams remain a persistent feature of the regional threat landscape.
• Corporate and public sector reports remain comparatively rare – Corporate crime accounts for just 0.6% of reports (93 incidents), while only seven public sector incidents were recorded during the reporting period. Although these figures are relatively low, they illustrate that the overwhelming majority of cyber crime reported within the East Midlands is directed towards consumers rather than organisations.

By financial losses

Insights for Financial Losses

• Investment fraud accounts for the majority of financial losses – Despite representing just 7.4% of reports (1.2k), investment fraud resulted in £38.7 million in losses, accounting for 57.9% of all reported financial losses. The average victim lost £31.3k, making it by far the most financially damaging cyber crime category in the East Midlands.
• Consumer fraud generates substantial losses through volume rather than value – Consumer fraud accounts for 24.5% of total losses (£16.4m), second only to investment fraud. Although the average loss per report is relatively modest at £2.5k, its high reporting volume means the cumulative financial impact across the region is significant.
• Banking fraud continues to produce high-value financial crime – Banking fraud generated £6 million in losses, representing 9% of the regional total. With an average loss of £3.3k per report, these offences remain considerably more costly than many other forms of cyber-enabled fraud, reflecting the direct targeting of victims' finances.
• Cyber dependent crime causes operational disruption more than financial loss – While cyber dependent crime accounts for 24.5% of all reports (4.1k), it represents just 0.6% of financial losses (£374.9k). The average reported loss of £92 per incident suggests that the primary impact is often service disruption, data compromise or operational downtime rather than immediate financial theft.
• Corporate and public sector incidents remain relatively few but can carry significant individual losses – Corporate crime accounts for just 0.7% of total losses (£469.5k), yet the average loss reaches £5k per incident. Similarly, although public sector losses total only £31k, the average loss per report is £4.4k, illustrating that organisational cyber incidents tend to have a disproportionately high impact whenever they occur.

East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Statistics for Individuals

Crime Types

By report volume

Insights for Individual Report Volume

• Consumer fraud remains the most common cyber crime affecting individuals – Accounting for 38.8% of reports (6.2k), consumer fraud is the most frequently reported offence among individuals in the East Midlands. Online shopping scams, fake marketplaces and fraudulent sellers continue to provide criminals with a high-volume route to targeting members of the public.
• Cyber dependent crime continues to affect thousands of individuals – Representing 24.9% of reports (4k), cyber dependent offences remain the second largest category. Incidents involving hacking, malware and compromised online accounts demonstrate that individuals remain frequent targets of technically enabled attacks, not just businesses.
• Advance fee fraud continues to exploit trust at scale – With 18.7% of reports (3k), advance fee fraud remains one of the most persistent threats facing individuals. Criminals continue to use convincing messages, fake opportunities and urgent requests to persuade victims to part with money before any legitimate service or product exists.
• Banking and investment fraud remain significant despite lower reporting volumes – Banking fraud accounts for 9.3% of reports (1.5k), while investment fraud represents 7.7% (1.2k). Together, these offences account for nearly one in six reported crimes against individuals, highlighting the continued focus on financially motivated attacks.
• Corporate and public sector offences represent only a small proportion of individual reports – Corporate (0.5%) and Public Sector (0%) incidents account for very few reports within the individual dataset. This reinforces that the overwhelming majority of cyber crime affecting individuals in the East Midlands is centred on consumer fraud, financial scams and attacks targeting personal digital accounts.

By financial losses

Insights for Individual Financial Losses

• Investment fraud causes the greatest financial harm to individuals – Although investment fraud accounts for just 7.7% of reports (1.2k), it generated £24.2 million in losses, representing 51.8% of all money lost by individual victims. With an average loss of £19.8k per report, it remains the most financially devastating cyber crime affecting individuals in the East Midlands.
• Consumer fraud combines high volumes with substantial cumulative losses – Consumer fraud resulted in £13.5 million in losses, accounting for 28.9% of the regional total. While the average loss per victim is £2.2k, the large number of incidents means consumer scams continue to have a significant financial impact across the region.
• Advance fee fraud remains a costly and persistent threat – Advance fee fraud generated £4.9 million in losses, representing 10.5% of all financial losses. Although the average loss per report is comparatively modest at £1.7k, its consistently high reporting volume makes it one of the region's most damaging fraud categories overall.
• Banking fraud continues to target victims' finances directly – Banking fraud accounted for £3.6 million in losses, or 7.7% of the regional total. With an average loss of £2.5k per incident, these offences demonstrate that criminals continue to focus on gaining direct access to victims' bank accounts and payment systems.
• Cyber dependent crime remains operationally significant but financially modest – Despite accounting for almost one quarter of reported crimes against individuals (24.9%), cyber dependent offences resulted in just £374.9k in reported losses, with an average loss of only £95 per report. This suggests the immediate financial impact is often limited, while the wider consequences are more likely to involve account compromise, service disruption or loss of personal data rather than direct monetary theft.

Age Demographics

By report volume

Insights for Report Volume via Age Demographics

By financial losses

Insights for Financial Losses via Age Demographics

• Financial losses increase significantly through middle age – Individuals aged 50–59 experienced the highest financial losses (£10.9m), accounting for 23.3% of all money lost. This is closely followed by those aged 60–69 (£9.4m, 20.1%), suggesting that the greatest financial impact falls on people with higher levels of accumulated wealth and active financial commitments.
• Older adults lose more money despite fewer reported incidents – While people aged 60–79 account for 23.4% of reports, they are responsible for 34% of all financial losses. The contrast indicates that although fewer incidents are reported within these age groups, the financial consequences are often substantially greater when fraud does occur.
• Average losses rise steadily with age – Victims aged 20–29 lose an average of £1.3k per incident, increasing to £2k for those aged 30–39, £2.5k for 40–49, and exceeding £4k per report from 50 years onwards. This suggests cyber criminals increasingly target higher-value opportunities as victims become older.
• Working-age adults account for the overwhelming majority of financial harm – Individuals aged 30–79 account for 84.2% of all reported financial losses, highlighting that cyber-enabled fraud has its greatest economic impact on those in their peak earning years and approaching retirement.
• The highest average losses occur among the oldest victims – Although relatively few incidents are reported among people aged 80–89 (£4.6k per report) and 90–99 (£4.7k per report), these age groups record the highest average losses outside the single centenarian case. The data suggests that when older adults become victims, the financial impact is often disproportionately severe compared with younger age groups.

East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Statistics for Organisations

Crime Types

By report volume

Insights for Organisational Report Volume

• Banking fraud is the most frequently reported cyber crime affecting organisations – Accounting for 44.4% of reports (335 incidents), banking fraud is the leading cyber crime category among organisations in the East Midlands. This highlights the continued focus on business bank accounts, payment processes and authorised push payment fraud as primary targets for financially motivated criminals.
• Consumer fraud extends beyond individuals into business operations – Representing 37.1% of reports (280 incidents), consumer fraud forms a significant proportion of organisational cyber crime. Many of these incidents involve fraudulent purchases, online transactions and marketplace scams affecting businesses that regularly trade with customers and suppliers.
• Cyber dependent crime remains a significant operational threat – With 14.7% of reports (111 incidents), cyber dependent offences such as hacking, malware and ransomware continue to affect organisations across the region. Although fewer in number than financial fraud, these attacks have the potential to disrupt business operations and compromise critical systems.
• Corporate and investment fraud remain relatively uncommon but continue to affect organisations – Corporate crime accounts for 1.5% of reports (11 incidents), while investment fraud represents 2% (15 incidents). Although comparatively rare, these offences typically involve targeted attacks against organisations rather than opportunistic mass-market scams.
• Organisational cyber crime is heavily concentrated around financial offences – Banking and consumer fraud together account for 81.5% of all organisational reports. The data suggests that criminals continue to prioritise direct financial gain, focusing on payment systems, business transactions and fraudulent purchasing activity rather than more technically complex attack methods.

By financial losses

Insights for Organisational Financial Losses

• Investment fraud accounts for the overwhelming majority of organisational losses – Although investment fraud represents just 2% of organisational reports (15 incidents), it resulted in £14.5 million in losses, accounting for 72% of all money lost. With an average loss of £966.7k per incident, it is by far the most financially damaging cyber crime affecting organisations in the East Midlands.
• Consumer fraud produces the highest average losses outside investment scams – Consumer fraud generated £2.9 million in losses, representing 14.4% of the regional total. Despite accounting for 37.1% of reports, the average organisational loss reached £10.4k per incident, highlighting the financial impact of fraudulent transactions and supplier-related scams.
• Banking fraud remains a costly risk for organisations – Banking fraud accounted for £2.4 million in losses, or 11.9% of the total, with an average loss of £7.2k per report. Combined with its position as the most frequently reported organisational crime, it continues to represent a significant financial threat to businesses.
• Corporate fraud is rare but carries substantial individual losses – Corporate fraud generated £343.5k in reported losses from just 11 incidents, producing an average loss of £31.2k per report. Although relatively uncommon, each successful attack has the potential to cause significant financial harm.
• Financial losses are concentrated in a small number of high-value incidents – Investment, consumer and banking fraud together account for 98.3% of all organisational losses. The data suggests that while organisations experience a range of cyber-enabled crimes, the overwhelming financial impact comes from offences directly targeting business finances, investments and payment processes.

Business Types

By report volume

Insights for Organisational Report Volume via Business Types

• Limited companies account for the vast majority of reported organisational cyber crime – Limited companies represent 74.3% of all organisational reports (542 incidents), making them by far the most commonly affected business type in the East Midlands. Given they make up the largest proportion of registered businesses, they remain the primary target for financially motivated cyber criminals.
• PLCs experience comparatively few incidents despite their size – Public Limited Companies account for 8.4% of reports (61 incidents), placing them a distant second behind limited companies. This suggests that although larger organisations remain targets, the overall volume of reported cyber crime is concentrated among smaller and medium-sized incorporated businesses.
• Small business structures account for a relatively modest share of reports – Sole traders (5.3%), partnerships (1.8%) and LLPs (0.3%) together account for just 7.4% of reported incidents. While these organisations may have fewer recorded reports, they often operate with more limited cyber security resources, making individual incidents potentially more disruptive.
• Charities continue to feature within the regional cyber crime landscape – Charitable organisations account for 3.3% of reports (24 incidents). Although comparatively low in volume, the data demonstrates that organisations holding sensitive information and processing donations continue to attract the attention of cyber criminals.
• Cyber crime affects organisations of every structure – From limited companies and PLCs through to charities, partnerships and sole traders, the data shows that no business type is immune. While incorporated businesses account for the largest share of reports, cyber criminals continue to target organisations based on opportunity rather than legal structure.

By financial losses

Insights for Organisational Financial Losses via Business Types

• Limited companies account for almost all organisational financial losses – Limited companies suffered £18.9 million in losses, representing 93.8% of all reported organisational losses in the East Midlands. With an average loss of £34.9k per incident, they not only account for the highest number of reports but also the overwhelming majority of financial damage.
• PLCs experience fewer incidents and comparatively lower financial impact – Public Limited Companies recorded £454.5k in losses, accounting for 2.3% of the regional total. Although significantly lower than limited companies, the average loss of £7.5k per report demonstrates that successful attacks can still result in substantial financial consequences.
• Other business types contribute only a small proportion of total losses – Organisations classified as Other recorded £396.2k in losses (2%), while charities (£93.4k), sole traders (£40.1k) and partnerships (£12.5k) together account for less than 1% of total losses. This suggests that, collectively, these organisations experience a comparatively limited share of the financial impact.
• Average losses vary considerably between business structures – While limited companies recorded the highest average loss at £34.9k per report, charities averaged £3.9k, PLCs £7.5k, sole traders £1k and partnerships £962. The variation highlights how both business size and the nature of attacks can influence the financial outcome of a cyber incident.
• Financial losses are heavily concentrated within incorporated businesses – Combining Limited Companies and PLCs, incorporated organisations account for 96.1% of all reported organisational losses. The data suggests that businesses with greater financial assets, more complex operations and larger transaction volumes remain the primary targets for financially motivated cyber crime.

About The Data - East Midlands UK Cyber Crime Statistics

Based on a rolling 12 months of data from Report Fraud.

Data is provided by the following police forces: Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Nottinghamshire.

The East Midlands UK cyber crime statistics data is extracted from the NFIB Fraud and Cyber Crime dashboard between 01/01/2025 and 31/12/2025.

Only 'cyber-enabled' fraud and cyber crime offences amounting to a crime under the Home Office Crime Recording rules are included.

Cyber-enabled crimes are traditional crimes, which can be increased in their scale or reach by use of computers, computer networks or other forms of IT.

Information reports and crimes reported directly from partner agencies and industry are not included at this time and will account for differences to Office for National Statistics figures for fraud offences in the same period.

For more information relating to different types of fraud and cyber crime please see the A-Z of fraud section on the Report Fraud website.

Limitations

East Midlands UK cyber crime statistics data is based on victim selection during the reporting process and this has not been verified.

Losses are based on loss amounts as reported in Report Fraud recorded crimes and these have not been verified. Where possible, efforts have been made to review losses reported in excess of £500k but further investigation may be required to determine if loss amounts are a true reflection of the financial impact of the reported crime.

Extreme outliers have been removed to limit data skew.

Crime Types

See crime type definitions in the main cyber crime stats article.

Regional Breakdown

Below is a list of regions that our cyber crime research is broken down into:

• London
• South East
• South West
• North West
• North East
• East
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• Yorkshire & Humber
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Further Reading

For more information about East Midlands UK cyber crime statistics, take a look at the following sources:

• Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 - UK Gov
• National Cyber Security Centre
• Office for National Statistics