Cheltenham at Risk, Cyber Security and a Guide to Staying Safe Online

The emergencies most likely to affect Cheltenham, how to report scams and cyber crime, and simple steps to protect yourself online.

By Mat Benfield · Published 2026-10-24

Three new pages bring together what could go wrong in Cheltenham and what you can do about it.

Cheltenham at risk sets out the seven top risks in Gloucestershire’s Community Risk Register: terrorism, infectious disease, electricity supply failure, flooding, fuel supply disruption, cyber attack and extreme weather. Each one sits on a matrix of likelihood against impact, with a short summary of the advice and links to the pages on this site where you can follow it live, from flood warnings and power cuts to the UK threat level.

A cyber attack is the only risk with the top likelihood score, so the new cyber security page explains who to tell about fraud, scams and cyber crime, and shows how often UK businesses and charities are attacked: 43% of businesses reported a breach or attack in the government’s latest survey.

The new guide to staying safe online covers the steps that protect against most attacks, including password managers, two-step verification, passkeys, data breach alerts and the warning signs of a scam.

We’ve also added Action Fraud, the Anti-Terrorist Hotline and the 7726 scam text number to our helplines and contacts.

FAQs

What Is the Community Risk Register?

  • A public summary of the emergencies most likely to affect Gloucestershire, or that would do the most harm, published by the Gloucestershire Local Resilience Forum. It scores each risk from 1 to 5 for likelihood and impact.

Which Risk Has the Highest Impact?

  • Terrorism and infectious disease share the top impact score of 5. Terrorism is also rated more likely, with a likelihood score of 4.

Where Can I Report a Scam?

  • Report fraud and cyber crime to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or online, forward scam texts to 7726 and scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. If you’ve lost money, call your bank first.