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Story URL: http://software.silicon.com/security/0,39024655,39183843,00.htm

UK a hotbed for cyber crime
Second only behind US

By Nick Heath

Published: Tuesday 08 April 2008

The cost of global e-crime surged to a record $240m last year, with the UK ranking number two in the world for cyber criminals.

Online reporting body the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is reporting a $40m jump in the cost of international e-crime over 2006.

silicon.com's e-Crime Crackdown campaign is calling for a national UK cyber crime police unit.

The unit would provide leadership and expertise to co-ordinate investigations nationwide and collate reports from police forces across the country, as well as offering a central point of contact for reporting e-crime.

We want to hear your views about this campaign and your experiences of being a victim of cyber crime. Were you happy with the way your case was handled? Make your voice heard by leaving a Reader Comment below or emailing us in confidence at editorial@silicon.com.

The IC3 2007 Internet Crime Report revealed the UK ranked second globally behind the US for the number of perpetrators of e-crime - accounting for 15.3 per cent of the global total - and third for victims, with 1.1 per cent of the total.

The report reveals a $40m jump in the cost of international e-crime over 2006, stemming from a total of 206,884 complaints to IC3.

IC3 is a joint operation between the FBI and the US' National White Collar Crime Center that takes international complaints about cyber crime, mainly originating from the US.

FBI Cyber Division assistant director James E Finch said in a statement: "What this report does not show is how often this type of activity goes unreported. Filing a complaint through IC3 is the best way to alert law enforcement authorities of internet crime."

The most commonly reported crime was auction fraud but they also included non-delivery of purchases, credit/debit card fraud, computer intrusions, spam or unsolicited email and child pornography.

silicon.com has won widespread support for its e-Crime Crackdown campaign calling for the UK to have a national policing centre to co-ordinate cyber crime investigations and reporting of e-crime.