In October 2022, 134 organisations reported cyber crimes to Action Fraud. Organisations with less than a £1.5 million turnover continue to be the most targeted by threat actors, accounting for 54% of reporting, with 58 of the reports coming from ‘Micro’ businesses (Sole Traders, and businesses with 1-9 employees).
During October Action Fraud received 57 reports of Social Media Hacking from organisations, with the majority (74%) committed via phishing messages and email compromises. There is a substantial difference in the motive for takeover between business and individual victims. For individuals, the main motive identified is promoting an investment on the victim’s account. For a business, the main takeover motive is to display indecent images of children forcing social media platforms to close business accounts and creating reputational damage for the organisation.
During the period, Action Fraud received 33 reports related to Business Email Compromise. This could enable the attacker to steal personal information and attempt to commit further crime such as mandate fraud.
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