32m suspicious emails reported to national reporting centre – resulting in hundreds of thousands of malicious websites being removed

More than 32 million suspicious emails have now been reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) since its launch in 2020 by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and City of London Police.

The reports have led to more than 329,000 web addresses being removed by the NCSC.

There’s also been a huge number of text messages reported to 7726, with tens of thousands of malicious websites being removed after being reported via 7726.

Reporting to 7726 – which spells “spam” on an alphanumeric keypad – is a free service offered by mobile network providers, allowing customers to report suspicious text messages. It all helps prevent others from receiving them, too.

Claire Webb, Deputy Head of Action Fraud, said:

“When fraudsters go phishing for valuable information, anyone could be a target. They will hook an unknowing victim with a genuine-looking email, in a bid to get them to share personal information, or bank details.

“Year on year, the amount of people reporting phishing emails and texts is growing. Action Fraud is urging everyone to be extra vigilant of suspicious-looking emails landing in their inbox, which could contain malicious links leading to unknown websites.

“Remember, if you think you have received a phishing email or text message, make sure you report it. You can forward emails to [email protected], or forward spam text messages to 7726.”

What is phishing?

'Phishing', ‘quishing’ or ‘smishing’ is when criminals use scam emails, text messages, QR codes, or phone calls to trick victims. Whether it’s an email asking you to “verify” your bank account details, or a text message claiming you’ve missed a delivery and are required to pay a redelivery fee, the goal is usually the same – to trick you into revealing personal and financial information.

For instance, a doctor from London lost more than £150 to a fake email claiming to be from TV Licensing. The email claimed that they needed to renew her TV licence as soon as possible. What made the phishing email so believable was that the victim’s TV licence had recently expired and the link in the email led to a fake TV Licensing website that replicated the real one.