Nottinghamshire Police are supporting a week-long national campaign led by Action Fraud to help raise awareness of "phishing" scams.

Phishing is when cyber criminals attempt to trick users into doing 'the wrong thing', such as clicking a bad link that will download malware or direct them to a dodgy website.

Whether it's an email asking you to "verify" your bank account details, or a text message claiming you've been in close contact with someone that's got COVID-19, the goal is usually the same - to trick you into revealing personal and financial information.

The campaign which began on Monday (11 July) is also designed to raise awareness of how to report phishing messages, with the most impersonated organisations including the NHS, HMRC and gov.uk.

Key messages and advice about phishing scams will be shared on Nottinghamshire Police's Facebook and Twitter accounts all this week.

PC Nick Stenner, of Nottinghamshire Police's Cyber Protect team, said: "We are very happy to be supporting this important campaign.

"Phishing scams continue to pose a significant threat for both individuals and businesses, so it is vital everyone is vigilant of unexpected messages or calls that ask for your personal or financial information.

"If you receive a call or message that you think might be a scam, don't respond to it. Instead, contact the organisation directly using contact information from the company's official website, and not the links or numbers provided in the message itself.

"Remember, your bank, or any other official source, will never ask you to supply personal information via email or text message."

As of 31 May 2022, the public has made over 12 million reports to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service, with the removal of over 83,000 scams and 153,000 malicious websites.

It was launched by the National Cyber Security Centre and the City of London Police in April 2020 to enable the public to forward suspicious emails to an automated system that scans them for malicious links.

If you think an email could be a scam, you can report it by forwarding the email to: [email protected].

Mobile network providers also offer a service that allows customers to report suspicious text messages, by forwarding them to the number 7726.

The service is free of charge and enables providers to takedown malicious websites and block malicious texts from being sent across their network.

If you've lost money or provided personal information as a result of a phishing scam, notify your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud by clicking here or by calling 0300 123 2040.