Spike in Brexit email spam following referendum result By Chris Baraniuk

Technology reporter Published duration 5 July 2016 Related Topics Brexit

image copyright Thinkstock image caption British computer users have faced a rise in Brexit-themed spam emails, according to reports

Email scammers have launched a deluge of spam emails at Britons concerned about the results of the EU referendum.

A new phishing attack targets users with subject lines such as "Brexit causes historic market drop".

There had been a sharp rise in such attacks since polling day, James Chappell, co-founder of London cybersecurity company Digital Shadows, told the Telegraph

Users have been advised not to click on links or attachments in such emails.

"Since the referendum results, Symantec's threat intelligence researchers have identified a 392% increase in spam emails that use Brexit in the subject line to target people and organisations," a Symantec spokeswoman told the BBC.

The number of emails blocked by Symantec on behalf of their customers rose from 81,323 between 9 June and 23 June to 399,892 from the 24 June to 5 July.

Phishing attacks involve sending a user a spoof message encouraging them to click on a link or download a file that then installs malware on to their computer or redirects them to a malicious website.

"These people are quite smartly riding on an assumption that Brexit has made a huge chunk of the population anxious and insecure," said psychologist Dr Aaron Balick.

"They're more vulnerable in that situation to grabbing on to something that offers them reassurances," he told the BBC.