UK Cybercrime Statistics
Live UK cybercrime counter 2026. Approximately 2.4 million cybercrime incidents occur in the UK each year costing approximately £27 billion according to NCSC and Home Office data.
About These Statistics
Approximately 2.4 million cybercrime incidents occur in the UK each year, according to the NCSC Annual Review and Home Office Cyber Security Breaches Survey. Cybercrime costs the UK economy approximately £27 billion per year. The UK is among the most targeted countries for cybercrime in the world, reflecting its large digital economy and financial sector.
Cybercrime encompasses computer misuse offences including hacking, malware distribution, denial of service attacks and ransomware, as well as cyber-enabled fraud including phishing, online scams and identity theft. The Home Office Crime Survey estimates approximately 3.7 million fraud and computer misuse offences occur in England and Wales annually.
Ransomware attacks — where criminals encrypt victims' data and demand payment for its release — represent one of the most serious threats to UK organisations. The NCSC has responded to hundreds of significant ransomware incidents affecting UK organisations each year, including attacks on the NHS, Royal Mail and critical infrastructure operators.
Phishing — fraudulent emails, messages or websites designed to steal credentials or money — accounts for a large proportion of cybercrime incidents. The NCSC's Active Cyber Defence programme and Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) received over 7.1 million suspicious email reports in 2023. The NCSC took down approximately 2.8 million scam URLs in 2022/23.
The UK government's National Cyber Strategy commits £2.6 billion over three years to strengthening UK cyber resilience. The NCSC provides guidance, incident response and threat intelligence to government, businesses and individuals. The Cyber Essentials scheme certifies organisations that implement basic cyber security measures, with approximately 30,000 certifications issued per year.
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Based on official UK government data
How much cybercrime is there in the UK each year?
Approximately 2.4 million cybercrime incidents occur in the UK each year according to NCSC and Home Office data, costing the economy approximately £27 billion. Including cyber-enabled fraud, the total number of fraud and computer misuse offences reaches approximately 3.7 million per year. The UK is among the most cyber-targeted nations globally due to its large digital economy and financial sector.
What are the most common cyber threats in the UK?
The most common cyber threats facing UK organisations and individuals include: phishing (fraudulent emails seeking to steal credentials or money); ransomware (malware encrypting data for ransom); supply chain attacks (compromising software or services used by target organisations); business email compromise (impersonating senior executives to authorise fraudulent payments); and credential stuffing (using stolen username and password combinations).
What should I do if I'm a victim of cybercrime in the UK?
If you are a victim of cybercrime in the UK, report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. If your personal data has been compromised in a breach, report it to the ICO at ico.org.uk. If you receive a suspicious email, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. For businesses, the NCSC provides incident response guidance at ncsc.gov.uk. Change passwords immediately on any compromised accounts and enable two-factor authentication.