Money stolen by scammers hijacking UK social media accounts rises 400%
Many cases involve criminals using other people’s identities to sell fake event tickets to friends and family The total amount stolen by criminals who hack into people’s emails and social media accounts and then pretend to be them has risen by more than 400% in a year, official UK data shows. In many cases, the scammers are hijacking people’s accounts in order to use their identity to sell fake…
Criminals have successfully stolen over £6.3 million from UK victims in the 2025-26 financial year, a 400% increase from £1.2 million in the previous year, according to official UK data. Hackers often target email and social media accounts, impersonating individuals to sell counterfeit event tickets or convince friends and family to send money under false pretenses.
The true total may be even higher as many victims do not report the scams, often due to embarrassment or the relatively small amounts involved. A Guardian article highlighted the case of a woman whose Instagram account was hacked, allowing scammers to sell fake tickets to an Oasis gig and steal £1,400 from her. Other scammers use fraudulent messages to pose as distressed relatives in need of cash, a tactic dubbed the "Hi mum" scam.
Among Bank of England customers, fraudsters posing as family members were the most successful at extracting funds, followed by daughters. Ch Supt Amanda Wolf, head of the City of London Police's Report Fraud service, emphasized that a hacked account can have personal ramifications, affecting not just the victim but also their family, friends, and colleagues.
To combat this issue, Report Fraud is launching a public awareness campaign encouraging individuals to switch to passkeys for their online accounts, as these are more secure and cannot be hacked like traditional passwords.
Written by urgent.news from Guardian Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
