Overview
- Accountancy and advisory firm Azets issued a seasonal alert urging heightened vigilance through the festive period, with SMEs highlighted as especially exposed.
- Paul Kelly, Azets’ head of cyber services, said criminals intensify efforts during holidays to steal payroll, customer data and other sensitive information.
- The firm flagged common scams such as fake e‑commerce sites, delivery‑impersonation emails and social media promotions pushing bogus holiday deals.
- Recommended steps include strong passwords, two‑factor authentication, regular software updates, offsite backups, vulnerability scanning and refreshed incident response plans, with some organisations advised to consider 24/7 monitoring or outsourced support.
- Azets referenced this year’s major UK incidents affecting Marks & Spencer, Co‑op, Jaguar Land Rover and Harrods and noted last year’s alert on a bogus HMRC compliance letter used for loan and VAT fraud.