Stop! Think Email and Social Media Hacking #FraudFree2026

Stop! Think Email and Social Media Hacking #FraudFree2026

Good afternoon,

According to Report Fraud, criminals stole over £6.3 million in the last financial year (up from £1.2 million in 2024/2025) from victims of social media and email hacking, reports of which have surged by 417% in the past year.

Two common tactics used to gain unauthorised access to your personal and financial data are:

Data breaches – using login credentials stolen in data breaches

Phishing – using fake emails/text messages/social media posts containing links to malicious websites that harvest your personal/financial information.

Make it more difficult for criminals to break into your emails/social media accounts:

Enable passkeys where available

Use strong passwords and enable two/multi-factor authentication – do not share one-time passwords with anyone

Check your privacy settings on social media – make sure your posts are only visible to friends/family

Be careful about what you share online – try not to share too many personal details – facts such as your birthday, where you live, family relationships, pet’s names, favourite teacher at school etc can all be used to steal your identity or make their fraud look more convincing.

For more advice, please see attached document provided by Report Fraud.

Please do share this important update with friends and family and encourage them to sign up for their own Hampshire Alert: https://www.hampshirealert.co.uk/

Hampshire Alerts is not a crime reporting portal – please do not report crime here.

If you realise you’ve been defrauded and wish to report a fraud that has already happened, please report it to Report Fraud either by phone 0300 123 2040 or online at: https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/

However, if a fraud or other crime is in progress, and/or you are in fear for yourself or someone else, and/or there is evidence in situ that could be damaged/destroyed, please phone 999 immediately.

Otherwise, report non-fraud crime online, or find out about other ways to report a crime at: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/

If you would like to report a crime anonymously please contact: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or phone 0800 555 111

If you've been affected by a crime please contact Victim Care Hub for free, confidential, support: https://www.hampshireiowvictimcare.co.uk/ or phone 0808 178 1641

If you’ve received a phishing email please report it to your email provider and/or forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk

If you’ve received unwanted phone calls or texts from people you think are trying to scam you, but you haven’t engaged with them, please forward the text/phone number to 7726 or your phone provider.

Thank you – Fraud Safeguarding Team

Attachments

Social_media_and_email_hacking_A3_One_Pager_English_Digital_be50f6d457.pdf

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Fraud Safeguarding Team
(Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, Fraud Safeguarding Officers, Hampshire and Isle of Wight)