UK spies take down 300 scam sites through public alerts

Britain's cyber spies said they have taken down at least 300 scam sites following more than 160,000 suspect emails reported to them by members of the public as part of a new Suspicious Email Reporting Service.

Emails reported to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) intelligence service, included callous attempts by criminals to exploit the coronavirus through fake offers of face masks and testing kits.

While cyber criminals continue to prey on people's fears, the number of scams we have removed in such a short timeframe shows what a vital role the public can play in fighting back, said Ciaran Martin, Chief Executive of the NCSC, describing the public response to the new reporting system launched two weeks ago as phenomenal.

I would urge people to remain vigilant and to forward suspect emails to us. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, he said.

Among examples of what the NCSC has removed as a result of the ...