Phishing is the most common form of cybercrime in the UK. Every day millions of fake emails, texts and websites attempt to trick UK residents into revealing passwords, banking details and personal information. Knowing how to spot them could save you thousands of pounds.
Phishing is when criminals send fake communications — emails, texts, social media messages or create fake websites — designed to look like they come from legitimate organisations. The goal is to trick you into revealing login credentials, banking details, personal information or downloading malware.
Fake emails that appear to come from banks, HMRC, Royal Mail, Amazon, Netflix or other trusted organisations. Here is a real example of what a phishing email might look like:
Notice the red flags — the sender domain is not hsbc.com, there is urgency and pressure, and the link goes to a suspicious domain.
Fake text messages claiming to be from Royal Mail about a missed parcel, from your bank about suspicious activity or from HMRC about a tax refund. The texts contain links to fake websites designed to steal your details.
Phone calls from people pretending to be your bank, HMRC, the police or technical support. They use personal details purchased from data broker sites to make calls seem legitimate.
Highly targeted phishing attacks using your personal information — your name, employer, recent purchases — to make the fake communication seem genuine. Fraudsters obtain this information from data broker websites and social media.
Before clicking any link hover your mouse over it and check the URL that appears in the bottom of your browser. Look for misspellings like amaz0n.com or amazon-secure.co.uk instead of amazon.co.uk. You can also paste suspicious URLs into virustotal.com for a free safety check.
1. Do not enter any information — close the page immediately if you have not already entered anything.
2. Change your passwords — if you entered any login details change that password immediately on every site where you use it.
3. Contact your bank — if you entered any financial details call your bank immediately.
4. Run a virus scan — use reputable antivirus software to check your device for malware.
5. Report it — forward phishing emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report phishing texts to 7726 (spells SPAM on a keypad).
We send weekly alerts about the latest phishing campaigns targeting UK residents
Spear phishing uses your personal data to target you. Remove your data from broker sites to make yourself a harder target.
Start Free Scan — silenterase.com