Cyber crime is unrecognised and unreported

Most people don’t recognise when they are being targeted by online fraudsters according to figure released today.

Almost one-in-nine respondents to a police-led survey in the East Midlands said they didn’t believe they’d been targeted.

But when questioned more closely it was found that 73% of them had been targeted in some way.

The most popular method was through emails – either containing phishing bugs or urging the recipient to visit dodgy websites – through which personal information could be stolen.

Nearly half of the respondents (43%) said they felt the matter was too trivial to report to police.

East Midlands Chamber has been working closely with the police and other authorities to raise awareness of cyber crime and the need to report instances so that its full extent can be monitored.

Andy Watterson, the Chamber’s lead on cyber crime, said:-

“It’s worrying that despite repeated warnings people still don’t recognise cyber crime or when they are a victim of it.

“Never open emails unless you know who they’re from, never open attachments even if you know who they’re from unless you are expecting them and never click through to links to websites you don’t recognise.

“Always make sure your anti-virus protection is up to date and if you are targeted, please report it. It’s only through reporting incidents that the police and other agencies can fully determine the extent of the problem and then take steps to eradicate it.”

The research was released to coincide with Get Safe Online Day 2016.

East Midlands Chamber is working alongside the police and De Montfort University to collate data on cyber crime.