Raising the Alarm: How Public Campaigns Are Tackling Fraud Awareness in 2025

In 2025, fraud continues to evolve, and so too must our ability to spot it. With scams becoming more sophisticated, personalised, and emotionally manipulative, public education has become a frontline tool in the fight against financial crime.

While banks and regulators introduce advanced tech and tighter controls, the biggest vulnerability is still human behaviour. That is why UK organisations have launched impactful awareness campaigns in recent years, not only to alert the public but to reshape everyday decision-making.

This article explores how campaigns like Take Five to Stop Fraud and We Fight Fraud are tackling the fraud crisis by arming people with knowledge. For businesses and the public alike, the message is clear: education is protection.

The Message: Stop. Challenge. Protect.

The campaign centres on three essential defensive behaviours:

• Stop: Take a moment before transferring money or sharing personal data.
• Challenge: Do not be afraid to question suspicious requests or communications.
• Protect: Contact your bank immediately if something feels wrong, and report all fraud attempts to Action Fraud.

These behaviours may seem basic, but in high-pressure moments, like receiving a call from someone claiming to be your bank, they become vital.

• Recent survey data shared by UK Finance in May 2025 shows worrying trends:
• Only 39% of people pause before acting on an unusual request.
• Just 9% would ask for a second opinion from someone else.
• Most people feel too embarrassed to admit being scammed.

The Take Five campaign’s real strength lies not in shock tactics, but in normalising caution. It encourages people to trust their instincts and take the time to think, without shame or urgency.

Education Crooks on Campus: Tackling Fraud Where It Starts

One standout initiative in the UK’s fight against fraud is Crooks on Campus, a national campaign delivered by We Fight Fraud (WFF). WFF is a unique collective of former criminals, intelligence officers, and cybersecurity specialists working to protect the public through immersive education. With Crooks on Campus, they’ve turned their focus to one of the most vulnerable and often-overlooked groups: students.

Targeting young people across UK universities, the campaign raises awareness of the growing threat of cybercrime, financial scams, and fraudulent recruitment, especially the grooming of students into becoming money mules.

Rather than relying on generic messaging, Crooks on Campus delivers high-impact, scenario-based learning and immersive resources designed to feel relevant, timely, and relatable. The campaign offers:

• Engaging content across campuses, helping students identify common scams such as money mule recruitment, phishing, and identity fraud.
• Partnerships with universities to embed cyber hygiene into student life and policies.
• Prevention-led storytelling, empowering students to recognise red flags and report suspicious behaviour.

As fraudsters continue to evolve their tactics, often targeting individuals with limited financial awareness or digital defences, campaigns like Crooks on Campus provide an essential frontline of education. Their work reinforces the need for targeted, age-appropriate interventions that go beyond posters and passwords, and into the behavioural drivers of cybercrime.

For more information, visit: www.crooksoncampus.co.uk

Other Public Campaigns Making a Difference

In addition to Take Five and We Fight Fraud, several campaigns and initiatives are also shaping the UK’s fraud response:

• Action Fraud’s social campaigns – Often seasonal (e.g. around holidays or tax deadlines), reminding the public about emerging scam trends.
• The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – Sharing blog-style guidance for small businesses and retailers, especially on phishing and ransomware.
• Banks’ initiatives – including scam-aware alerts during online banking journeys and email “training” for customers.

These efforts work best when reinforced by organisations across sectors—from charities to councils, who interact with the public at their most vulnerable.

Why Education Works (And Why It is Not Enough on Its Own)

Fraud campaigns do more than inform; they change attitudes.

But behavioural change takes time, and education alone cannot shoulder the full burden. What is needed is a combined strategy of:

• Accessible awareness campaigns
• Better-designed systems that protect people from themselves.
• Stronger controls within businesses and institutions
• A no-blame culture that empowers people to speak up.

This is where fraud consulting and regulatory compliance support become essential, not just to tick boxes, but to create an anti-fraud culture from the inside out.

How AJC Helps Organisations Go Beyond Awareness

At AJC, we support organisations not just in understanding fraud but in embedding real prevention across systems, teams, and leadership. We help you:

• Train frontline staff to spot social engineering tactics and raise internal red flags.
• Review and redesign processes and customer journeys to reduce fraud risk.
• Align your policies with FCA and NCSC guidance, ready for scrutiny.
• Build a culture where fraud prevention is not a scary add-on, but a natural part of operations.

From fintech to local government and beyond, we equip teams with the insight and resilience needed to meet today’s threats.

Click here, to find out more about our Fraud Prevention services.

Contact us on 020 7101 4861 or email us at info@ajollyconsulting.co.uk if you think we can help.

Sources:

UK Finance (2025). Take Five campaign urges vigilance amid £3m daily fraud losses.
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk

We Fight Fraud (2024–25). Crooks campus
www.crooksoncampus.co.uk

National Cyber Security Centre (2025). Incidents Impacting Retailers – Lessons and Response Advice.
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/blog-post/incidents-impacting-retailers

Action Fraud (n.d.). Reporting tools and social outreach.
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk

Image accreditation: Ralph Hutter (Sept 2020) from Unsplash.com. Last accessed on 23rd July 2025. Available here.