MI5 warns over financial scam

MI5’s website was down for part of Friday after a possible cyber attack (PA) (PA Archive)

The home security agency, MI5, has taken the unusual step of issuing a public warning after fraudsters pretending to be the service’s head attempted to obtain money from people.

In a message posted on MI5’s website, the security service warned that people should not fall for the “financial scams”.

It said people had been asked for money by email and telephone with some correspondence purporting to be from the MI5 Director General, Sir Jonathan Evans. Sir Jonathan was installed as head of MI5 in 2007 replacing Eliza Manningham-Buller.

“These requests are a financial scam and have nothing to do with the Service or the Director General,” reads the statement on its website, which was one of the few updates on the site apart from job vacancies and the UK’s current terror threat.

Anyone who had been contacted was urged to report the scam to police.