It's a big internet out there, and bad actors are plentiful.

The problem has metastasized in recent years as enterprising hackers have begun to package their botnets and spamming tools into commercial offerings, allowing any Tom, Dick, and Script-kiddie rental access to the same power. Drawing on the combined digital might of a geographically diffuse legion of zombified PCs, hackers are able to swamp game servers and prevent players from logging on for hours or days at a time. Search on GOV.UK to find official government services and phone numbers, for example if you want to apply to the DVLA for a driving licence.As anyone who regularly games online can attest, DDoS (dedicated denial of service) attacks are an irritatingly common occurrence on the internet.

Some make you pay for things that would be free or cheaper if you used the official government service. Some websites, emails or phone numbers look like they’re part of an official government service when they’re not, or claim to help more than they actually do. Avoid websites, emails and phone numbers that imitate government services If you’re in Scotland and you’ve lost money because of an online scam or fraud, report the crime to Police Scotland.

report online - either sign up for an account or continue as a ‘guest’.

If you think you’ve been a victim of an online scam or fraudĬontact Action Fraud if you think you’ve lost money or been hacked because of an online scam or fraud and you’re in England or Wales. You can also report scam or misleading adverts to Google if you found them in Google search results, or report to Bing if you found them in Bing search results. You can report adverts found online, including in search engines, websites or on social media. Report scam or misleading adverts to the Advertising Standards Authority. This will report the message to your mobile phone provider. Text messagesįorward suspicious text messages to 7726 - it’s free. Emailsįorward suspicious emails to National Cyber Security Centre ( NCSC) will investigate it. Report misleading websites, emails, phone numbers, phone calls or text messages you think may be suspicious.ĭo not give out private information (such as bank details or passwords), reply to text messages, download attachments or click on any links in emails if you’re not sure they’re genuine.

Google forms and spam and hack bots