UK economy loses almost £11 billion to cyber crime each year
The UK economy lost £10.9 billion as a result of online fraud and cyber crime last year, according to new research, which works out at about £210 for every person aged over 16 in the country.
The figures come from a survey by Get Safe Online and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and reveal that 68 percent of people in the UK have been targeted in some way by cyber crime.
Fraudulent emails or messages which have attempted to direct them to phishing websites have been received by 53 percent. In addition 28 percent reported being contacted by someone who was trying to trick them into giving away personal information.
Some 10 percent have had their email or social media accounts hacked, and three percent have been victims of ransomware. Of those who said they had been a victim of cyber crime, over a third (38 percent) say they felt that the matter was too trivial to report. Even more concerning is that 37 percent also say that they felt there was nothing that could be done.
"The news that cybercrime in the UK cost the economy north of £10 billion last year is shocking enough, but what is far more surprising is the fact that almost 2-in-5 victims are not reporting incidents, and the even more distressing notion that over a third of people thought there was nothing to be done to lessen the chances of becoming an online crime victim," says Lee Munson, security researcher for Comparitech.com. "On the first count, there may be good reasons why some people are keeping their victim status to themselves -- embarrassment, not wanting to mark themselves out as 'suckers', ripe to be targeted again, etc -- but this also raises the concern that some crimes that should be reported (for legal and regulatory reasons) are being swept under the carpet".
Yet despite the number of victims, many Britons are still not taking basic steps to keep themselves safe online. As many as 43 percent say they use the same password for multiple online accounts. Even when a company warns people to change their password after a breach -- three out of 10 have been contacted to do so -- 12 say said they didn't follow the advice.
The survey finds that people use an average of just nine passwords across all their devices and accounts. It also shows that respondents only update their security software every eight and a half months and 19 percent never update their device operating systems.
"The huge financial loss to cybercrime hides the often harrowing human stories that destroy lives and blights every community in the UK," says City of London Police's Commander Chris Greany, the Police National Coordinator for Economic Crime. "All of us need to ask ourselves are we doing everything we can to protect ourselves from online criminals. Unfortunately, people still click on links in unsolicited emails and fail to update their security software. Just as you wouldn’t leave your door unlocked, so you shouldn't leave yourself unprotected online".
More information on the findings along with advice on online safety can be found on the Get Safe Online website.
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