According to the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), the National Health Service (NHS) topped the list of UK government agencies most frequently impersonated in suspected email scams last year.
The NCSC claimed that its highly popular Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) received 6.4 million reports from the public that year and removed 67,300 phishing and fraudulent URLs.
As one of the government’s best-known ‘brands’, it is perhaps not surprising that the NHS topped the list of brands mentioned in the reports that resulted in its removal.
They were followed by TV Licensing, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Gov.uk, Driver and Vehicle License Agency (DVLA) and energy regulator Ofgem.
Mike Glassey, CISO of Ofgem, said his organization worked with the NCSC in 2022 to identify and respond to over 100 phishing campaigns “in near real time” to keep consumers safer. I was.
“Protecting consumers is our number one priority and it is alarming that vulnerable customers are being preyed upon when people are already struggling with energy bills,” he added. I got
“Therefore, as an energy regulator, in addition to issuing our own warnings and advice, we have asked all energy suppliers to make clear and up-to-date information about fraud easily accessible on their websites. .”
Scammers used interest in COVID-19 PCR testing last year to lure victims into phishing pages and HMRC tax refund scams, according to the NCSC.
“We know that cybercriminals use trends and current affairs to make their scams look convincing, but sadly, the latest data shows that 2022 was no exception. ,” argued Sarah Lyons, NCSC’s Associate Director for Economic and Social Resilience.
“By shining a light on these scams, we hope to make it easier for people to spot the common tricks scammers use so they can ultimately stay safer online. increase.”
Since its launch in 2019, SERS has reportedly received 15.8 million reports and had 198,500 takedowns.
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