Respond to a
cyber attack.

Contact your bank immediately using its official website or phone number. If you use online banking, cancel the affected card where possible.

Use the provider’s account-recovery process, change the password from a clean device and review recent activity.

Run a full antivirus scan and allow your security software to clean up anything it finds. If you installed software at the sender’s direction, seek expert help.

Change it immediately everywhere it was reused, then enable two-step verification.

Tell your bank immediately and report the incident to your local police or fraud-reporting authority.

Stop using the device for sensitive work and contact your IT or security team straight away.

If you entered no information and installed nothing, monitor your accounts closely. If you entered details or installed software, change exposed passwords, contact your bank where relevant and scan the device.

Do not interact with it. Report the message as phishing or spam through your email or messaging provider.

Report it to your bank immediately using an official website or phone number. Cancel the card through online banking if available.

Tell your bank immediately and report the incident to your local police or fraud-reporting authority.

Do not click suspicious links or make a payment. Report related messages as spam. If you already paid, contact your bank and the police.

Run a trusted antivirus scan. Warning signs include severe slowness, unexplained restarts, unfamiliar pop-ups, programs opening or closing unexpectedly, and contacts receiving messages you did not send.

Back up essential information where safe, then use the manufacturer’s factory-reset process. If the behaviour continues, seek expert help.

Update the operating system and programs, run a full antivirus scan and follow its recommendations. If it cannot clean the device, professional help may be needed to wipe and reinstall it safely.

Restore only from a known-good backup created before the infection. Trying to rescue files from an infected device may carry the malware into the rebuilt system.

Keep apps and devices updated, maintain reliable backups, enable encryption and use reputable antivirus protection with automatic security updates.

Use the provider’s official website and follow its account-recovery process.

Review inbox rules, filters and forwarding settings. Attackers sometimes create rules that copy or hide messages and password-reset emails.

Set a strong, unique password for the affected account and every other account where that password was reused.

After changing the password, use the account’s security settings to end all other sessions and remove unfamiliar devices or connected apps.

Enable two-step verification or a stronger sign-in method such as an authenticator app or passkey wherever available.

Install security updates and turn on automatic updates to reduce the risk of another compromise.

Warn contacts to ignore recent unexpected messages from the compromised account.

Review bank statements and shopping accounts for unauthorised transactions. Contact your bank through an official channel if anything looks wrong.

Create a new account if necessary, tell your contacts and update banks, suppliers and online stores with the new details.

Criminals may exploit breach news with convincing follow-up scams. Banks and legitimate organisations will not ask for passwords or full banking details by email.

Look for sign-in problems, unfamiliar messages, unrecognised devices and transactions you did not make.

Change affected or reused passwords, enable two-step verification and follow the hacked-account recovery steps if you see unauthorised access.

If the message contains a password, it may be from an old data breach. Change that password immediately everywhere it was reused and enable two-step verification.

Keep the message and payment details as evidence. If you paid, are being threatened, or feel unsafe, contact your local police.

Tell someone you trust and seek confidential emotional support from a reputable local support organisation. You do not have to handle the situation alone.