Almost five-fold increase in reports of online investment ad scams

The latest semi-annual report from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) shows that the centre continued to receive large numbers of reports in the first six months of 2025. The number of reports concerning fraud – over half of the total – also remains high. There has been a marked increase in reports of online investment advertising scams. Cybercriminals often misuse celebrities as decoys to gain the trust of potential victims. The semi-annual report also focuses on various targeted phishing campaigns aimed at bank customers, the ongoing ransomware threat and hacktivism at major events such as the WEF and the Eurovision Song Contest.