NS&I, the organisation behind UK favourite, the Premium Bonds, has blocked well over 100,000 emails after being rocked by phishing attacks.
National Savings and Investments has recorded a sharp rise in malicious attempts targeting the Government-backed savings provider,
The organisation blocked 132,126 malicious emails over three years, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request.
While the total number of blocked emails fell over the most recent 12 months, phishing attacks increased significantly from 1,043 incidents to 4,414.
The intercepted communications included spam, phishing attempts and malware threats targeting the organisation’s systems.
Any organisation or individual can be vulnerable to rogue emails and the best advice involves all of us being vigilant.
Premium Bond holders are advised to check their accounts as there is even a possibility that prizes could have gone astray.
The Manchester Evening News reports that Tim Grimsditch, Managing Director at financial advice group Unbiased, has offered some advice for anyone who think a Premium Bond prize may be missing.
“If you believe you have won a prize from this month’s Premium Bonds draw but you have not yet received it, there are several straightforward checks to make before assuming something has gone wrong.”
“Ensure your personal details are up to date. Out of date bank details or addresses are one of the most common reasons prizes do not arrive, particularly if you have changed bank accounts or moved house.”
The not for profit National Cyber Security Alliance says phishing is a type of scam in which criminals impersonate a trusted person or organization to trick you into clicking a link, downloading a file, or sharing sensitive information such as passwords or credit card numbers. These scams come at us through basically every inbound form of communication, including emails, text messages, social media posts, phone calls, or direct messages. Scams can also try to victimize you through your physical mailbox – although this is typically classified as mail fraud.
Often, a phishing message tries to inspire a positive sense of urgency: “You won an expensive cooler!” Messages promising free money, prizes, or exclusive deals are often scams, especially if you don’t remember signing up. In many cases, the sender’s email address will seem very unofficial, like using lots of numbers and an odd email domain. But delete and report any unexpected message that seems too good to be true.
Legitimate organisations won’t ask for passwords, Social Security numbers, or financial details over email or text. If you get a strange message from a real organization, contact it directly for more details (i.e., not through the contact info in the message), such as its official website.
Scammers will often use urgent language, such as ‘act now to avoid penalties’, and say you may face an investigation, or have your account locked.
