Cabinet minister’s social media hacked to promote bogus House of Commons cryptocurrency

From deepfake adverts to crypto-scams, cyber scams are on the rise (Alamy/PA)

Those who clicked on the link shared via Ms Powells account were taken to an investment website and asked to connect a crypto wallet before buying various currencies.

Last year saw a surge in reports of hacked social media and email accounts, according to data from Action Fraud, the UKs national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.

A staggering 35,434 cases were reported throughout the year, a significant jump from the 22,530 reported in 2023.

Action Fraud said criminals often target accounts for financial gain, using compromised profiles to perpetrate investment or ticket fraud.

In other cases, the account itself is the prize, stolen and potentially sold on for illicit purposes.

Another common fraud happens when account details are gained via phishing scams or data breaches, such as leaked passwords.

People often use the same passwords across their accounts, so a leaked password from one website can leave several online accounts vulnerable to hacking.