| Fraud Update from West Mercia Police – Economic Crime Unit – 04/08/2026 |
DON’T TAKE THE BAIT Over 56 million phishing emails have been reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service and more than a third of those were reported in the last year. Reporting of phishing emails has reached an all-time high with a 44% increase year on year.From that 252,000 website addresses have been removed by the National Cyber Security Centre and Action Fraud are urging the public to keep on reporting suspicious emails and texts. What is Phishing? This is when criminals use scam emails, texts, QR codes or even phone calls to trick victims into revealing personal and financial details. They may also try and persuade you to visit a website which results in downloading a virus to your device so never click on links in suspicious emails and texts. How can you protect yourself? If in doubt about any message received contact the genuine organisation via the details on their website or relevant paperwork, but avoid clicking on links or using the contact details in the message. If an email does not feel right, then forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk even if you are not all that certain if it is a scam. Always report suspicious text messages free of charge to 7726 then the provider can find out where it came from and block the sender. You can also report scam phone calls by texting 7726 with the word “Call” followed by the Scammer’s phone number. If you have lost money, or given away financial information, after a scam, tell your bank straightaway by calling 159 and also report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via reportfraud.police.uk By reporting phishing attempts you can reduce the amount of scam messages you get, make yourself a harder target for scammers and protect others from cyber Crime online |