Anyone with a Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook account needs to be high alert and think before opening or replying to messages that land in their inbox. Cyber attacks continue to be a growing problem for people across the globe and falling foul of scams can leave personal data and even money in the hands of hackers.

In a bid to help UK consumers avoid becoming the next victim of online crooks, the team at Action Fraud has just issued some important new advice and the best thing we can all do is 'stop' and think when checking our daily batch of messages.

"If you’ve received an email that doesn’t feel right, STOP!," Action Fraud explained.

"Don’t reply, click on any links, call any phone numbers or make any payments ."

By being alert users can break the contact with the cyber crooks and face less chance of being tricked into handing over valuable private data.

Along with stopping and thinking, Action Fraud is also urging users to report anything suspicious in their inbox.

Simply forwarding emails to the national fraud and cyber crime reporting service can help prevent others from facing attacks in the future.

According to Action Fraud, the total number of phishing scams reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) has now reached over 41 million since it was it first launched back in April 2020.

Thanks to this service, over 200,000 scams have since been removed from the web.

“We know it can be difficult to spot fake messages or tell if a call is genuine," said Superintendent Amanda Wolf, Head of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau at the City of London Police.

"Criminals can change tactics fast and use the technology available to constantly create genuine-looking emails and messages or facilitate calls that feel authentic - all designed to trick us and try and steal personal and financial information.

“Every phishing email reported helps us gain a better understanding of the tactics being used and enables us to tackle it head on by identifying malicious URLs trending in phishing emails and texts - they can be taken down and disrupted, preventing further activity. The more reports received, the more people we can protect, preventing them from becoming victims."

If you spot something that looks odd don't delete it straight away. Instead, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk and then remove it from your inbox. This will make sure the cyber team are aware of it and can start blocking more messages in future.

“Since 2020, over 41 million phishing attempts have been reported to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service — a powerful sign that the public is staying alert to online threats, helping to protect themselves and others," said Sarah Lyons, NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society Resilience.

“But cyber criminals aren’t giving up - they’re constantly finding new ways to trick people into clicking malicious links, sharing personal information, or handing over money.

“That’s why it’s more important than ever to stay alert. You’ll find clear, practical advice on how to spot and report scams - and how to stay secure online - on the NCSC website.”