Hacked social media accounts used to post indecent images of children

27 Jul 2022 09:50 AM

Social media accounts are being hacked and flooded with indecent images of children, potentially causing distress and reputational damage to the account holder. Action Fraud reports of this nature have been increasing month on month since January 2022 and so far this year, over 60 reports have been received.

Based on the review of these Action Fraud reports, there appears to be no financial motivation behind this hacking, with no report received mentioning a ransom demand. Offenders have not been limited to just indecent images, but have reportedly uploaded videos of the same nature. The majority of victims were not aware of the hacking until they received an email from the social media platform informing them that their account had been suspended.

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