If you spend endless hours a day glued to social media or have a Gmail/Yahoo inbox that is brimming with emails, you might want to take notice of the latest advice from security experts. It appears that online crooks are targeting accounts on an almost daily basis, and it’s putting millions at risk of attack.

In fact, new data from Action Fraud says there were a whopping 35,434 reports sent by UK consumers in 2024; that’s up from 22,530 the year before.

If that figure wasn’t bad enough, nearly £1m was pinched by hackers after successfully targeting unsuspecting users. Those are worrying stats, and Action Fraud wants to stop more people from becoming a victim.

To avoid losing more money to thieves or having personal data stolen, the UK experts are now urging those with online accounts to make some urgent changes to avoid this ‘critical’ issue.

“As social media and email account hacking remains the most reported cybercrime this year, this Action Fraud campaign marks a critical issue for everyone who has online accounts. That’s why we’re raising awareness of the ways people can protect themselves online,” explained Adam Mercer, Deputy Director of Action Fraud.

There are a couple of big threats that are causing the most concern. The first is when a fraudster gains control of an account and begins to impersonate the legitimate owner. The infamous “Hi mum” scam is a good example and has seen some people handing over vast sums of money to people they thought were family.

The other common method of hacking is when account details are gained via phishing scams, or the use of leaked information used from data breaches, such as leaked passwords. This can give scammers instant access to email accounts which can then be used to steal data.

So how can you avoid being the next victim?

Action Fraud says it’s vital that users turn on 2-step verification. This security setting means no accounts can be accessed until a code is sent to a separate device owned by the user.

It’s also important to check email accounts have a unique password that is different from all other accounts. Make sure your email is also tough to crack.

For example, if your current Gmail password is a name such as “liverpool”, just add some extra characters and capital letters.

ORIGINAL PASSWORD: liverpool

MORE SECURE PASSWORD: L1ver_Po@l

“Follow Stop! Think Fraud advice and protect yourself online: enable 2-Step Verification on each online account you have – this will help prove your identity and stop fraudsters trying to steal or access your valuable information. Secure your social media and email accounts by ensuring each password is strong and uses three random words. Remember to never share your passwords with anyone else,” added Mercer.

The latest warning is also being backed by the team at Meta who own services such as Facebook and Instagram.

“Scammers are relentless and continuously evolving their tactics to try and evade detection, which is why we’re constantly working on new ways to keep people safe while keeping bad actors out. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is one crucial example of how people can add an extra layer of security to their Meta accounts, to help reduce the risk of scammers accessing your accounts. We’ve also started rolling out facial recognition technology to help people get back into compromised or hacked accounts and are always working on new ways to stay ahead of scammers.”

Don’t forget, if you spot any strange emails then simply send them to [email protected]. This could help block more people from being targeted.

Tech companies have gone all in on artificial intelligence in the last couple of years, to the point where if you buy a new smartphone today, it’ll shove AI in your face whether you like it or not. Apple has Apple Intelligence, Google has Gemini and Samsung has Galaxy AI. These new-fangled software features aim to help you do stuff on your phone, from summarising notifications or emails to helping you edit the tone of a composed message or erase an unwanted photobomber from a holiday snap.

While this AI is built into the iPhone and the Android operating systems of several company’s phones, the apps we use on those devices have been kept somewhat free of AI. That appears to be changing, particularly when it comes to apps owned and run by Meta, formerly Facebook.

Meta has just announced it is bringing ‘Meta AI’ to WhatsApp. It’s a further muddying of brands after Mark Zuckerberg’s renamed juggernaut also inserted this artificial intelligence tool into Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

Meta has pitched Meta AI as a chatbot-like personal assistant that sits across its four big apps, on call at the tap of its glowing blue circle icon for you to ask it questions. You can access this currently in the Messenger app via the search bar at the top of your chat list, or in chats by tagging ‘@MetaAI’ when you perform a sort-of web search in message form.

This is not what a privacy-minded chat app should be for, and I’m peeved it’s coming to WhatsApp.

Like many Brits I have used WhatsApp for years. Everyone is on it, it works very well, doesn’t complicate things, and messages are end-to-end encrypted. I’ve been quietly happy Meta has opted to keep the basic experience similar to what it was ten years ago.

Meta AI is very much in your face. Meta says it’ll work in WhatsApp if someone tags @MetaAI in a message in any chat.

“Just simply type “@MetaAI” followed by your prompt or question in your chosen chat group, and await your reply. Whether you’re planning a group trip, brainstorming dinner ideas, settling an ongoing debate or just looking to add some fun to your chat, Meta AI is your on-call assistant.”

I simply do not want this in WhatsApp. You might do, and that’s fair enough. But none of us have a choice in this as you won’t be able to disable Meta AI, just like I found I can’t switch it off when it infiltrated my Messenger app recently.

Apple lets me switch off Apple Intelligence on my iPhone 16. There’s literally a toggle in the settings to say, “no, thanks”. Not so with Meta AI.

“Meta AI is an entirely optional service that you can choose to ask questions, teach you something, or help come up with new ideas,” Meta spokesperson Ellie Heatrick told Express.co.uk. “A user needs to take an action to chat to or invoke Meta AI.”

It’s “optional” whether you use it or not when it pops up in your WhatsApp soon, but you can’t switch it off.

Messages with @MetaAI tagged will also be readable by Meta, though the firm claims the rest of your untouched messages will remain end-to-end encrypted and not readable.

“Only messages that mention @Meta AI, or that people choose to share with Meta AI, can be read by Meta. Meta can’t read any other messages in your personal chats,” WhatsApp said on a page on its website.

That means if you send a message in a group chat and then someone taps to reply with an in-line reply, as is common on WhatsApp, and tags @MetaAI in that reply, your original message – in which the chatbot was not tagged – is now readable by Meta and not protected by end-to-end-encryption.

This is a privacy loophole and one I now have no control over as an individual user. Anyone I’m chatting with will be able to reply to my message and tag the new AI, opening up that message to Meta’s eyes.

As a UK smartphone owner it seems somewhat impossible to consider ditching WhatsApp, but I am tempted to switch over to Signal, one of the last messaging apps to leave AI well alone and stand by its users’ right to privacy.

Meta has rolled out Meta AI in the US and other countries, but it has taken longer to get to Europe thanks to this region’s regulations.

“It’s taken longer than we would have liked to get our AI technology into the hands of people in Europe as we continue to navigate its complex regulatory system – but we’re glad we’re finally here,” Meta said. “Over the coming weeks, we’ll take the first step in making Meta AI’s chat function available in six European languages, with a view to find parity with the US and expand our offering over time.”

“Parity” includes sticking Meta AI prompts in the Chats search bar whether you like it or not, as has unavoidably happened in Messenger. Just like having adverts in my chats list in Messenger, the arrival of Meta AI had given me another reason to stick with WhatsApp, ironically owned by the same firm.

As the AI creeps in on WhatsApp too, privacy pitfalls in tow, I think it might be time to wave goodbye for good.