UK Scam Losses Surge as Hackers Hijack Social Accounts

Published: 05 October 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online.

The amount of money stolen by criminals who hack into email and social media accounts in the United Kingdom and then impersonate their victims has increased by more than 400% in a single year, according to official figures, highlighting the growing financial and personal risks created by compromised online identities.

The reported losses reached £6.3 million during the 2025-26 financial year, compared with £1.2 million in 2024-25. The figures, recorded through the Report Fraud service operated by the City of London Police, show how account takeovers are increasingly being used not simply to access private information but to exploit relationships of trust between victims and the people around them.

In many cases, criminals gain control of a person’s social media account and then use the victim’s identity to approach friends, relatives and colleagues. Because the messages appear to come from someone they know and trust, recipients may have little reason to suspect that they are communicating with a fraudster. This makes the attacks particularly effective and can allow criminals to obtain money quickly before the victim realises what has happened.

One increasingly common form of fraud involves fake tickets for popular and sold-out events. Criminals who have taken control of an individual’s social media profile can advertise tickets for concerts, sporting events or other sought-after occasions. Friends and family members may be persuaded to make payments because the offer appears to have come directly from someone they know.

The scale of the problem is also likely to be underestimated. Official figures are based on crimes reported to the relevant authorities, but many victims do not report scams. Some people may feel embarrassed that they were deceived, while others may decide that reporting the incident is not worthwhile if the amount lost was relatively small. Taken together, those unreported cases mean that the true financial cost of account hijacking and impersonation could be considerably higher than the recorded figure.

The consequences of an account takeover can extend beyond the initial financial loss. Victims may suddenly find themselves locked out of their email or social media accounts, while criminals gain access to personal information, photographs, conversations and contact lists. Once inside an account, fraudsters can use the victim’s digital identity to approach dozens of people, potentially turning a single hacked account into a wider fraud network.

A particularly damaging aspect of these crimes is the role played by personal trust. Traditional scams often require criminals to persuade strangers to believe an unfamiliar story. Account hijacking can remove that barrier because the fraudster appears to be a familiar person. The recipient may recognise the profile picture, name, writing style and previous conversations, making the deception much harder to detect.

The problem is not limited to social media platforms. Criminals also use messaging services and text messages to impersonate relatives who supposedly need urgent financial assistance. One well-known version involves fraudsters pretending to be someone’s child and claiming that they have lost their phone, are facing an emergency or urgently need money. The approach is often designed to create panic and discourage the recipient from taking time to verify the request.

Such impersonation scams can be especially effective because family members may respond quickly when they believe a relative is in trouble. Fraudsters can exploit emotional reactions, presenting an urgent situation that appears to require an immediate payment. By the time the victim discovers that the message was fake, the money may already have been transferred and become difficult to recover.

Banking data has also demonstrated how convincing family impersonation can be. Figures from Santander have indicated that, among its customers, fraudsters pretending to be someone’s son were the most successful at persuading victims to hand over money, followed by those pretending to be daughters. The findings illustrate how criminals are increasingly exploiting family relationships and emotional trust as part of their fraud strategies.

Amanda Wolf, head of Report Fraud operations, said the impact of hacking should not be viewed simply as a technical or cybersecurity problem. For victims, she said, being hacked can become a deeply personal experience, particularly when criminals use their identity to target people they know.

Victims can face the immediate frustration of losing access to important accounts, but they may also worry about what personal information criminals have obtained and how it could be used. The situation can become even more distressing when friends or relatives are subsequently targeted using the compromised account.

The warning reflects a broader change in the nature of online fraud. As people increasingly use digital platforms for communication, shopping, entertainment and financial activity, social media and email accounts have become valuable targets for criminals. A compromised account can provide access not only to personal information but also to an established network of contacts who are more likely to trust messages appearing to come from the account owner.

Report Fraud is now launching an awareness campaign aimed at encouraging people to strengthen the security of their online accounts. One of the main recommendations is for users to switch to passkeys where they are available.

Passkeys provide an alternative to conventional passwords by using a person’s device and biometric authentication, such as a fingerprint or facial recognition, to confirm their identity. The technology is designed to reduce reliance on passwords, which can be stolen, guessed, reused or obtained through phishing attacks.

The increased use of stronger authentication methods could make it harder for criminals to take over online accounts in the first place. Preventing an account from being compromised is particularly important because the damage can spread rapidly once criminals gain control.

Security specialists have repeatedly encouraged users to treat unexpected requests for money with caution, even when the message appears to come from a close friend or family member. A simple phone call or separate message can sometimes establish whether the request is genuine. Users should also be wary of unusually urgent requests, particularly when they are being asked to transfer money or purchase goods on someone else’s behalf.

For people whose accounts have already been compromised, recovering control quickly is critical. Changing passwords, securing linked email accounts, enabling stronger authentication and warning contacts can help limit further damage. Friends and relatives who receive suspicious messages from a known account should avoid making payments until they have independently confirmed the person’s identity.

The dramatic rise in reported losses serves as a reminder that online fraud is increasingly dependent on human relationships rather than purely technical deception. Criminals do not necessarily need to convince a stranger that they are trustworthy when they can take over the digital identity of someone the victim already knows.

With £6.3 million in reported losses recorded in just one financial year, the latest figures underline the growing importance of protecting personal online accounts. As digital communication becomes an even more central part of everyday life, securing those accounts is not only about protecting passwords and private information. It is also about protecting the people connected to them from being drawn into fraud.

The challenge for individuals, banks, technology companies and law-enforcement agencies will be to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated impersonation techniques while ensuring that victims receive support without fear of embarrassment or blame. The latest campaign’s emphasis on stronger authentication, particularly passkeys, reflects the growing recognition that preventing account takeovers can be one of the most effective ways to stop a chain of fraud before it spreads from one victim to many.