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National Savings and Investments (NS&I) has recorded a sharp rise in phishing attacks after malicious attempts targeting the Government-backed savings provider surged more than fourfold in the past year. The Premium Bonds operator blocked 132,126 malicious emails over a three-year period, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information request. The intercepted communications included spam, phishing attempts and malware threats targeting the organisation’s systems. While the total number of blocked emails fell over the most recent 12 months, phishing attacks increased significantly from 1,043 incidents to 4,414. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Spam messages accounted for the overwhelming majority of blocked communications, making up 97,777 of the total intercepted emails during the three-year period. NS&I urged customers to remain alert following the rise in suspicious activity involving its systems. Andy Ward, senior vice president international at cybersecurity company Absolute Security, warned financial institutions were facing growing risks from increasingly advanced criminal tactics. He said: "Any organisation and any person can be a target for cybercriminals, so it's vital that security systems are prepared to deal with threats, particularly when large sums of money are involved." Mr Ward warned that artificial intelligence (AI) was being increasingly deployed to create more convincing phishing attacks. "Malicious actors are using tactics such as AI-generated phishing emails in an attempt to trick staff into falling for scams, giving cybercriminals their route in to wreak havoc, which can often lead to wider disruption." He added that even short-term disruption affecting organisations such as NS&I could have serious consequences for customers attempting to access savings and financial services. Mr Ward urged firms to strengthen internal security measures and improve staff awareness around cyber threats. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Premium Bonds update: NS&I reveals May 2026 £1m prize winners - full breakdown here NS&I increases interest rates across savings accounts - full list of changes NS&I relaunches Green Savings Bond with all new rate confirmed for savers An NS&I spokesman said the organisation operated robust safeguards to protect customer information and internal systems. They said: "NS&I takes the security of its systems very seriously and has robust processes in place to detect and prevent malicious communications to keep our systems and customer data secure." NS&I also clarified the figures related solely to inbound emails directed at the organisation itself rather than messages sent to customers. The disclosure follows a major technical outage that left around 37,000 NS&I customers temporarily unable to access their funds. Up to £476million in deposits were affected during the disruption. Bereaved families attempting to retrieve savings belonging to deceased relatives were reported to have faced particular difficulties accessing accounts during the outage. Charlotte Wilson, head of enterprise for UK and Ireland at cybersecurity company Check Point, warned consumers had become increasingly relaxed about sharing sensitive personal information online. "So many hacks leak data on people yet as a society, we have become worryingly liberal with handing over our sensitive personal and financial details." She warned artificial intelligence was allowing criminals to identify weaknesses more quickly when handling large volumes of personal data. Ms Wilson said this increased the likelihood of successful phishing attacks and financial fraud. "Consumers not understanding the risks of sharing data makes defending increasingly difficult." Ms Wilson warned seemingly harmless information, including details about recent purchases or investment providers, could be used by cybercriminals to build more sophisticated scams targeting individuals and organisations. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
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