Phishing Awareness Week 2025

Merseyside Police is supporting Phishing Awareness Week during the first week of June, an initiative led by Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

Phishing occurs when criminals use fake emails, text messages or phone calls to trick victims into revealing personal and financial information via a genuine-looking website. Criminals will use well-known brands or organisations the victim already has a connection with, like a bank or tradesperson, to make the emails or messages appear genuine.

Following a steady increase cybercrime nationally during the last three years, the awareness campaign aims to shine a spotlight on phishing frauds. In March 2025 alone, there were 641,446 emails reported across the UK to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS).

Detective Sergeant Danny Gavin from Merseyside Police’s Cybercrime Unit said: "Phishing techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but there are clear warning signs that can help protect you. Be wary of messages that create a sense of urgency, asking you to act immediately, and remember they could appear to be from organisations that you do have contact with. Legitimate companies will never ask you to provide sensitive information like passwords or bank details via email or text."

Residents are urged to follow these key steps to protect themselves from phishing attacks:

If you’ve received an email that doesn’t feel right, STOP! 

• break the contact – don’t reply, click on any links, call any phone numbers or make any payments 

• check if it’s genuine: contact the organisation directly using an email address or phone number you know is correct, e.g. from your utility bills, via a search engine, on the back of your card or by calling 159 for banks 

• before you delete the email, forward it to [email protected] 

If you’ve received a text message that doesn’t feel right, STOP! 

• break the contact – don’t reply, click on any links, call any phone numbers or make any payments 

• check if it’s genuine: contact the organisation directly using an email address or phone number you know is correct, e.g. from your utility bills, via a search engine, on the back of your card or by calling 159 for banks 

• forward the message for free to 7726 

If you’ve received a call that doesn’t feel right, STOP! 

• hang up 

• check if it’s genuine: contact the organisation directly using contact details you know are correct, such as those on a utility bill, official website, the back of your card or by calling 159 for your bank 

• don’t trust the Caller ID display on your phone – it’s not proof of ID 

• report it by sending a text to 7726 with the word ‘call’ followed by the scam caller’s number 

Detective Sergeant Gavin added: " Don’t get caught out. Stop, Think Fraud, and make sure you report suspicious-looking emails or messages if you receive them. It is important to report these attempts because you're not only protecting yourself but helping us protect others in the community."

The public can help tackle phishing by reporting suspicious emails to [email protected] and forwarding suspicious text messages to 7726 free of charge. These reports help the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) investigate and remove malicious websites and email addresses.

For more advice on how to protect yourself from fraud: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/

Anyone who believes they have been targeted by a phishing scam should report it to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.

For more information on staying safe online, visit the National Cyber Security Centre at www.ncsc.gov.uk.