The total amount of money stolen by criminals who hack into people's emails and social media accounts and then impersonate them has risen by more than 400% in a year. Official UK data indicates that £6.3m was reported stolen in the 2025-26 financial year, compared to £1.2m in 2024-25.
Many of these cases involve scammers hijacking accounts to sell fake event tickets, such as for sold-out gigs, to the account holder's unsuspecting friends and family. The Report Fraud service, run by the City of London police, which has national responsibility for economic crime, provided these figures.
Ch Supt Amanda Wolf, head of Report Fraud operations, stated that being hacked is a personal issue that can leave victims locked out of accounts and worried about identity misuse. She added that a compromised account can quickly affect family, friends, and colleagues as fraudsters exploit trusted relationships.
Report Fraud is launching an awareness campaign to urge the public to protect their online accounts. The campaign recommends switching to passkeys where available, as they use a device and biometrics for authentication and are not susceptible to being hacked like passwords.