About half the crime in the UK is computer and fraud-related, according to the latest Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).
It showed an estimated 6.2 million incidents of crime in the survey year ending September 2016; which was no statistically significant change compared with the previous year’s survey.
For the first time last year, the survey included questions to do with online crime, which showed there were 3.6 million fraud and 2.0 million computer misuse offences for that year.
What they say
John Flatley, Crime Statistics and Analysis, Office for National Statistics (ONS), says: “In its 35 year history the Crime Survey has charted changing trends in crimes experienced by the population. In the past burglary and theft of vehicles were the high volume crimes driving trends but their numbers have fallen substantially since then. When the CSEW started, fraud was not considered a significant threat and the internet had yet to be invented. Today’s figures demonstrate how crime has changed, with fraud now the most commonly experienced offence. However, it should be emphasised that the new headline figures, including fraud and computer misuse, are not comparable with those from earlier years.”
To go through the crime stats, visit ONS website.
Meanwhile, City of London Police, the force with national responsibility for fraud, is urging the public to look at advice from itself and partners to protect themselves from falling victim to fraud and cyber crime. Police are urging people to sign-up to the Action Fraud alert system (www.actionfraud.police.uk/alerts) to ensure they have current information about frauds across the country. The alerts are generated by analysing reports to Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber reporting centre, run by the City of London Police.
The force has developed the Fraud Defence Test (www.frauddefencetest.com), built with funding from the Home Office’s Police Innovation Fund. It’s designed to help people understand fraud in relation to their particular circumstances and knowledge; and takes a couple of minutes.
Advice
– Never disclose security details, such as your PIN or full banking password
– Don’t assume an email, text or phone call is authentic
– Don’t be rushed – a genuine organisation won’t mind waiting
– Listen to your instincts – you know if something doesn’t feel right
– Stay in control – don’t panic and make a decision you’ll regret
Go to www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk.
City of London Police Commander Chris Greany, pictured, the National Police Coordinator for Economic Crime said: “The Crime Survey of England and Wales shows us that Fraud and Cyber Crime are the largest single crime types today, and the figures only include individuals and not businesses who are also victims. Policing is working closely with Government and the private sector to do what we can to arrest offenders, protect victims and provide suitable guidance to help support all people and businesses in preventing fraud.
“There are many ways we can all protect ourselves, websites such as Action Fraud and Take Five provide help and guidance as does our social media streams on twitter and Facebook.”
About the survey
The CSEW is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a selected range of offences in the 12 months before; to gather victim-based crimes experienced by those interviewed, not just those that have been reported to, and recorded by, the police.
Comments
Andy Lea, Head of Policing at audit firm KPMG, said: “The new fraud and computer misuse estimation of 5.6 million offences highlights the challenge forces face to be better equipped to fight cyber enabled crime and the need for all of us to better protect ourselves. These figures also show the difficult decisions forces will need to make when prioritising their use of resources.
“The overall CSEW figures show 6.2 million incidents of crime in the survey year ending September 2016; with no statistically significant change compared with the previous year’s survey, highlighting that England and Wales as a relatively safe places to live. The increases in police recorded crime should be viewed positively and reflects forces’ better approach to recording and the efforts being made to build victim trust to report crime.”
Nick Brown, group managing director of identity data intelligence company GBG argues that businesses and individuals need to be taking necessary action and using data more intelligently. He says: “These figures illustrate just what a booming business fraud has become. It’s sadly got to a point that you have to assume your identity, at some point, will be compromised. Even the unassuming store card can be a target for fraudulent activity as they are linked to your name and address. While this information may seem of little value on the surface, fraudsters can use this data – your identity – to set up other accounts to do with as they please. In the first instance, fraudsters use the actual identity of an individual and thereafter, they will create synthetic identities compiled from elements of the data stolen from an individual. And the consequences can be disastrous.
“So as those with malicious intent hone their skills to increasingly take advantage of the innocent, businesses and individuals need to consider how they can stay one step ahead to protect their valuable identity, data and IP. For the individual it’s about being more vigilant with data; making sure you know where your name, address, phone number or date of birth are stored online and keeping track of where you put in your bank details. For businesses, it’s about using data more intelligently. The more transparent we can be with data, the more it can be used to gather insights and intelligence that will stop the bad guys in their tracks. Furthermore, by using more data, analytical insights and triangulation of multiple identity proofing techniques, the implications of identity theft can be minimised for both the citizen and the businesses who are serving them.”
Sean Martin, UK general manager, Covata says: “Two million computer misuse offences sounds like a lot, but this is likely to be a drop in the ocean compared to the real extent of UK cybercrime. This figure will increase over time as more people recognise they have been targeted and the police get better at detecting cybercrime. That said, the police is doing the right thing by including cybercrime in its crime report and it represents just how much crime has changed in the 35 years since the report was first generated.
“Today’s report from the ONS reminds us that cybercrime is a serious – and growing – threat to consumers and businesses alike. It is simply no longer possible to control where data travels or is held, as the numerous cyber breaches hitting the headlines demonstrates. To reduce the chances of becoming a statistic in next year’s UK crime report, it is paramount that companies deploy cyber protection at the data level, making use of robust encryption and stringent access controls tied to tight policies.”
Paul Scarrott, EMEA Director at Nimble Storage, said: “The Crime Survey for England and Wales has demonstrated that there were a massive 1.9 million cases of frauds on UK-issued cards, a 46 per cent increase on the previous year. To combat this growing threat, the financial services industry is continuing to deploy increasingly complex and expensive behavioural analytics solutions to identify fraudulent activity. However, the speed of big data analysis can only be as quick as the slowest element in an organisation’s IT infrastructure, and growing data sees fast data access becoming a more challenging and complex issue for more IT teams. With such a short window in which to prevent crime once a fraudulent act is attempted, it is crucial that IT teams remediate issues across the stack to ensure that slow data delivery to analytics applications doesn’t prevent the quick analysis needed to stop a transaction going through.”
David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab, said: “We are pleased to see that fraud and computer misuse estimates have been incorporated for the first time within headline CSEW estimates. For one thing, we see a blurring between traditional, real world crime and virtual crime; criminals are happy to blend their techniques across the two and so ‘cyber’ can no longer be seen as a separate compartment of crime. For example, fraudulent computer service calls, which often start with a phone call suggesting consumers check their computer, are more than just a phone scam: they have a serious impact on any device connected to the internet and the data stored on it. It is important to note that an accurate year-on-year comparison from the ONS, to demonstrate the growth of fraudulent cybercrime, will not be possible until January 2018. However, we agree that bank and credit account fraud is one of the most problematic areas with the continuing rise of e-commerce. Incidents that affect people’s pockets are always more likely to be reported; but it’s important that consumers do report all cybercrime so we can have an accurate view of reality in next years’ report and can understand what areas of cyber safety need attention.”
And Alex van Someren, Managing Partner, Early Stage at Amadeus Capital Partners and co-founder of the Cyber London accelerator for cybersecurity startups, CyLon, said: “Increasing use of the internet for e-commerce and banking has presented ever-growing opportunities for criminals. At the same time, the challenges of defending this complex and dynamic environment keep on increasing. We’ve found that more startup businesses are focusing on addressing these challenges, and the UK has world-class capability in solving them.”
