UK think tank, the Social Market Foundation (SMF), conducted an analysis of the figures, revealing that 134 people for every thousand inhabitants had fallen victim to bank and credit card fraud. Losses reached £8,833.20 per one thousand people.

The value of fraud is more than £2000 higher in the UK than the second ranked country, France.

The SMF has called on the UK Government to adopt a “comprehensive whole-systems” approach to address fraud – Britain’s dominant crime – starting with recruiting more specialist staff that are trained to handle complex crime like fraud (and other economic crime types).

Richard Hyde, SMF senior researcher, said: “Britain’s shocking record on card fraud compared to major European economies is yet another reminder of how UK law enforcement has failed to keep up with the epidemic. Policymakers need to reflect further on why we’re at this stage.

“Solving the crisis will take more than just increased police staff. Whilst specialist staff will certainly play a crucial role, the entire fraud law enforcement landscape needs an overhaul – with reforms that will transform the system and enact lasting change.

“There is no time to delay – fraud and economic crime is evolving to be more difficult to investigate and solve – so policymakers must start to make comprehensive system changes now.”