Britain’s cybersecurity unit faced a record number of scams in 2021, a report has revealed. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reported a total of 2.7 million cases of attempted fraud. Common among those were various phishing and social engineering attempts, fake celebrity endorsements, and extortion emails. The aim of the vast majority of these scams was to obtain credentials or download malware. One scam in particular saw a huge rise in numbers: the number of fake emails claiming to come from the National Health Service (NHS) grew by 1,100%, reflecting the COVID-19 vaccination rollout programme. The NCSC intends to run a public awareness campaign designed to inform the public of the dangers when using the internet.
