Phishing and smishing scams have become one of the most prevalent threats to both businesses and individuals. A Cyber Security Breaches Survey revealed that 85% of UK businesses experienced a phishing attack in the last year.
These scams are no longer the clumsy attempts they used to be. They're smart, well-researched, and often convincing, all thanks to emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.
These tactics, which often involve impersonating trusted institutions such as banks, government agencies, and retailers, are designed to trick individuals into divulging personal information, passwords, or even making payments under false pretences.
The Bridewell team sent FOI requests to the Citizens Advice, HMRC and DVLA to get an idea on which types of organisations are being impersonated. Data was collated for 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date (June ’25).
Most Impersonated Industries in the UK Reported to Citizens Advice
We’ve categorised the businesses that have been impersonated the most and the results show a clear winning industry.
Our analysis showed that Parcel Delivery was the most impersonated industry in the UK, followed by Banking, Mobile Network, and Telecoms & Broadband.
The likes of Evri (16 complaints) and Royal Mail (15 complaints) helped to push parcel delivery services as some of the highest reported impersonated brands.
In 2024, Citizens Advice received 1158 reports of an email or impersonation that attributed to a specific trader. In 2025 so far, there were 376 reports.
How Many Phishing Impersonations of HMRC Have Occurred Over the Years?
The team sent a request individually to HMRC alone which revealed a significant number of documented impersonations over both email and SMS.
Phishing and smishing scams have surged to concerning levels, with HMRC receiving an astonishing 296,000 reports since 2023. More than 283,000 were related to emails posing as the revenue service. Although SMS-based impersonation attempts are less common, HMRC has still received 13,250 reports over the past two years.
How Many Phishing Impersonations of the DVLA Have Occurred Over the Years?
Our FOI request extended to the DVLA and while less significant than the HMRC, email impersonations in 2025 have hit new heights. There has been 1,190 reports this year so far, already surpassing the previous record of 924 in 2023.
SMS scams are quite consistently less frequent at 179 (2023), 200 (2024) and 101 (2025). All data can be seen below -
The spike in DVLA-related email and SMS scams in 2025 is particularly concerning, and while exact details aren’t revealed, they could very well be exploiting the urgency associated with car tax renewals and driving licence updates.
How to Protect Yourself from Phishing Scams
Scammers often use logos, sender names, and language that closely mimic real organisations. Here's how to protect yourself:
- Verify: Contact companies directly using official contact details.
- Pause: Don’t click links in unsolicited emails or messages.
- Report: Use Action Fraud or contact Citizens Advice.
With more than 2,700 scams reported to Citizens Advice and hundreds of thousands reported to HMRC alone, the data shows just an urgent need for caution.
For further information on how to spot a phishing scam, please refer to the NCSC.
Methodology
The data presented is based on Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted to HMRC, DVLA, and Citizen's Advice.
HMRC and DVLA: We requested data on the number of individuals reporting attempts to impersonate these organizations via phishing and smishing. This data covers incidents between 1 January 2023 and 2 June 2025, with a breakdown by year and communication method (email or SMS).
Citizen’s Advice: We requested the total number of email or message scams reported to Citizen's Advice in 2024 and 2025. The data provided is for reports between 1 January 2024 and 27 May 2025. Additionally, we asked for the number of times email or text scams impersonating business brands (such as banks or delivery companies) were reported during 2024 and 2025.
Charlie Kahn
Content and Communications Manager
