New research by Which? has sought to identify the number of people in the UK who lost money to online scams in the last 12 months.

Yonder, on behalf of Which?, conducted an online survey of 2,068 UK adults aged 18 and over for the purpose.

The data was weighted to be "nationally representative," and the research defined ‘being scammed online’ as losing money to a scam.

253 respondents, or around 12 per cent, reported losing money to an online scam.

22 per cent of respondents said they had come across suspicious ads or messages every day when online in the last six months.

73 per cent of respondents said they do not trust that the ads they see on social media or search engines are genuine.

The last government’s voluntary Online Fraud Charter, which marks its first anniversary this week, was signed by such companies as Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (Twitter), and YouTube.

The charter intended to protect users from scam content.

A Which? spokesperson said: "Which?’s latest research suggests scammers are continuing to run rampant on their platforms."

Off the back of its survey, Which? has said it is calling on the government to bring forward implementation of the Online Safety Act.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, added: "Under the current timetable for the Online Safety Act, platforms in scope of the fraudulent advertising duties in the Act may not be held accountable until 2027 - this is simply not good enough.

"Ofcom needs to put the regulations in place much sooner and the Fraud Minister must ensure a more coordinated approach, working with regulators and the tech, banking, and telecom sectors to stop the fraud epidemic."

Amazon, Google, and Meta had reportedly not responded to requests for comment from Which? at the time of publication of its results.