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The top UK government branded attacks reported to the National Cyber Security Centre’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) officer that resulted in takedowns were, the NCSC reports:
1) National Health Service (NHS)
2) Television Licensing
3) HM Revenue & Customs
4) Gov.uk
5) DVLA; and
6) Ogem.
In 2022, the NCSC says it has seen fraudsters take advantage of the rising cost of living with Ofgem energy bill maintenance scams and HMRC tax rebate scams, while fraudsters continue to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to attempt to scam PCR tests.
The NCSC encourages the public to forward suspicious emails to its suspicious email reporting service at report@phishing.gov.uk, while suspicious texts should be forwarded to 7726. SERS received 6.4 million alerts in 2022, resulting in that was 67,300 fraudulent URLs removed. This brings the total number of reports to SERS since its launch in 2020 to 15.8 million with 198,500 removals.
The NCSC is also urging people to follow Cyber Aware advice to protect their online accounts from fraudsters looking to steal personal data and sensitive information. Specifically, people should set up two-step verification and use three random word passwords to prevent cybercriminals from gaining access to email accounts.
Comment
Rachel Jones, chief executive of SnapDragon Monitoring, said: “Fraudsters make millions of pounds every year by tricking people into visiting imitation websites of real brands and encouraging them to buy, in the case of TV licenses or fake products as examples, or passing them over sensitive and confidential information.
“These scams are widespread and very difficult to identify, especially when we all read sites and buy online so easily. Sites that look super topical, covering issues around the pandemic or the cost of living crisis, for example, are increasingly common, offering ostensibly (but deceptive) solutions to the vulnerable.
“The NCSC is doing an incredible job identifying and removing illegal sites to protect consumers, and the onus is now on the public to be vigilant and the private sector to be proactive in doing the same. Businesses, products and services are being illegally replicated online every day, scamming consumers out of more than money. Fraud of any kind can cause irreparable financial and emotional damage. For businesses, the reputational damage can be just as bad.
“All businesses now need to be on the lookout for online threats – from monitoring for fake versions of websites, products, misuse of company logos, the list is endless. Only by monitoring and removing these scams quickly and by improving awareness of these issues can consumers be informed and safe.”
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