RESIDENTS are being urged to beware of phishing emails that relate to extortion, as the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) received thousands of reports in March.

Action Fraud said that over 2,924 reports were filed in March 2025, a staggering increase compared to only 133 reports made in February.

The reported phishing emails received by the National Cyber Security Centre’s SERS relate to a type of extortion referred to as ‘Financially Motivated Sexual Extortion’.

A spokesperson for Action Fraud said: “Reports suggest the phrasing of the email and subject lines can vary, but the theme remains consistent. The phishing email claims to have installed malware on the recipient’s computer, and recorded them visiting adult websites.

“The sender will then coerce the email recipient to pay a ransom demand by threatening to release the videos. The ransom is usually demanded in a form of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.”

In order to make these phishing attacks convincing, emails will often include genuine pieces of personal information relating to the victim, like a password or home address. It is likely these would have been obtained from previous breaches of personal data.

Analysis shows that many people who received these emails later reported becoming victims of online account hacking.

Action Fraud’s advice is do not engage with the phisher and forward the email to [email protected].

The inclusion of genuine passwords or other personal information in phishing emails is a strong indication that you may have been affected by a historic data breach. You can go online to check which of your online accounts were affected:

If you have been a victim of extortion, or concerned that someone may be in possession of intimate images of you, you should report it to Gloucestershire Constabulary in person, or you can call 101.