Warning issued over email and social media hacking as 15,000 victims report cases

A warning has been issued about fraudsters hacking into email and social media accounts after 15,000 victims reports cases in one year.
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Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, received 15,214 reports of email and social media hacking between February 2020 and February 2021 – 88 per cent of which were from individuals who had their personal accounts compromised by criminals.

The City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which assess the reports received by Action Fraud, said almost a quarter of victims - 23 per cent - were aged between 20 and 29.

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While organisations, such as limited companies, sole traders and charities, only made 1,741 reports of hacking, they reported losing £3.8 million to fraudsters compared to the £283,500 lost by individual victims.

A warning has been issued about email and social media account getting hacked, with 15,000 cases reported in a yearA warning has been issued about email and social media account getting hacked, with 15,000 cases reported in a year
A warning has been issued about email and social media account getting hacked, with 15,000 cases reported in a year

The warning comes as the NFIB’s Cyber Protect team launches a national awareness campaign today around the importance of securing accounts to keep information out of the hands of criminals.

Superintendent Sanjay Andersen, Head of the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, said:

“Criminals hack people’s email and social media accounts to access a wealth of valuable personal information about the individual, which they can use to commit fraud. This includes passwords for other accounts like online banking. Criminals also use compromised accounts to imitate the victim online and trick their family and friends into sending money.

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“One of the most important things that you can do to improve the security of your online accounts is having two-factor authentication enabled. Not only will it prevent hackers accessing your accounts even if they have your password, but it will also keep your valuable information out of the hands of criminals.”

The NFIB found that during the financial year 19/20, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat were the most reported platforms on which people had their social media accounts compromised.

Compromised Facebook accounts were commonly used to facilitate fraud, whereas compromised Instagram accounts were often used to obtain intimate images of the account holder. Similarly, compromised Snapchat accounts were often used for blackmail offences, such as sextortion.

Contact Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

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