A warning to consumers and the owners of small and medium businesses that they need to be vigilant to reduce the chance of becoming victims has been issued by Wiltshire police and crime commissioner Angus Macpherson.
And he has made it clear that Wiltshire Police cannot tackle cyber crime alone because many sophisticated cyber criminals and fraudsters operate from internet cafes in foreign countries.
He issued his warning as the Home Office launched its £4 million Cyber Streetwise campaign, which is designed to educate small businesses and consumers on how to avoid falling victim to the online thieves.
The government estimates that the total loss through fraud in England and Wales runs into tens of billions of pounds. It says tens of thousands of cyber crimes are reported.
The Home Office has set up www.cyberstreetwise.com, an online portal which is intended to give insights and guidance to the owners of small and medium enterprises and to consumers.
“Unfortunately cyber crime is the big growth area in crime, so I very much welcome this Home Office initiative,” Mr Macpherson told Marlborough News Online. The Wiltshire Police fraud team investigates frauds against victims in the county which are carried out by criminals within the UK jurisdiction.
“But the problem is that cyber crime needs more international co-operation between governments. These criminals are extremely mobile. I’m told they will gain access to victims’ accounts from a faraway internet cafe, transfer funds and then quickly move on before their position can be pinpointed.
“Others will work from laptops which they discard once the crime has been committed in order to cover their tracks. We all need to be far more canny by ensuring that we have good online security on our computers.”
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