A record number of scams have been removed from the internet as part of a scheme to help protect people from fraud and cybercrime. 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) says it removed a total of 2.7 million scams, illicit domains and phishing services during 2021, nearly four times more than during 2020.  

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The rise in take downs comes after the NCSC -the cyber arm of intelligence agency GCHQ -expanded operations designed to remove malicious online content. These include fake celebrity endorsement scams, bogus extortion emails, missed delivery scam text messages, and a wide range of fraudulent and malicious websites. 

SEE: How to keep your bank details and finances more secure online

One scam email even involved cyber criminals claiming to be NCSC CEO Lindy Cameron, telling the potential victim that the NCSC had recently stopped