Cybercrime In Britain Does Serious Harm
Uploaded on 2020-08-14 in GOVERNMENT-Law Enforcement, FREE TO VIEW
In very basic terms, cyber crime involves a computer, mobile or iPad. It is often hacking for money, or secret data about you or people and organisations you are connected to or it might be identity theft or child pornography and other reasons. A British study into victims of computer crime carried out by Action Fraud has exposed the serious harm some victim’s experience, as well as barriers to reporting such offences. Changes throughout the entire system are being recommended to better serve the needs of victims, and help protect others in the future.
More than £190,000 a day is lost in the UK by victims of cyber-crime, police statistics show. The figures show 13,357 people in the UK reported cyber-crimes over a six-month period. More than 5,000 of those people were hacked via their social media and email accounts, costing victims £14.8m.
More than a third of victims in that period fell prey to the hacking of social media and email accounts. Computer misuse involves hacking, denial of service attacks and ransomware. In the year ending 2018 it accounted for almost 10% of reported crime in the UK.
Researchers have found that there is poor research of computer misuse crime by UK authorities and now there are these 3 recommendations for reporting.
1. The UK’s reporting systems have been a barrier to some reporting of crime, and recommends that this is up-graded.
2. A review of information on all police force websites about computer misuse crime is also being advised, to ensure a consistency of reporting of such crimes across the country. Researchers found that all police officers, staff and the public should be better trained in understanding what constitutes a Computer misuse and crime offence.
3. It is also recommended the National Cyber Security Centre works with key organisations who receive complaints from customers, including banks and social media providers, to encourage victims to report crime through common web links.
As the number of computer misuse crimes in 2018 was nearly a million yet less than 24k were actually recorded in the UK – as yet there are not any official statistics for 2019. The report recommends that victims should always report crime via their local police station.
Adults aged between 35 and 44 are slightly more likely to be victims of cybercrime (by around 7.4%). This is in comparison to 16 to 24-year-olds (4.9%), 65 to 74-year-olds (5.4%) and over 75 (2.8%). Households with incomes of more than £50,000 per year have a slightly higher risk than those below that threshold. This could be due to the fact that more affluent households tend to have more internet-connected devices.
Managers and professionals such as doctors and lawyers have a slightly higher chance of being victims of cyber-crimes.
Given that so few cybercrimes are actually prosecuted, protecting yourself from cyber-crime is key.
Here are Six Key Cyber Security Points to follow:
- Ensure that your devices are password protected with a strong password. The City of London Police, has warned people to keep separate passwords for online accounts.
- Should any of your devices be stolen that you can quickly change account passwords.
- Be aware of your surroundings, make sure that no one is looking over your shoulder or watching as you type in passwords.
- Do not click or anything or download anything unless you are 100% confident in the source.
- Do not reply to emails asking for personal information or passwords. If an authority, perhaps your bank, asks for information over email, call your branch and ask for confirmation that they actually need this data.
- Do not give out personal information, even something as simple as your address, unless you absolutely know that data is going somewhere trustworthy.
Remember, cyber crime happens every day, and it happens to people just like you. No one is safe, though you can lessen your chances of being affected by following the advice given above. Be alert, be vigilant, and be careful so that you don’t become a statistic!
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