The City of London Police, the official fraud reporting body Action Fraud and Get Safe Online were talking to people around the City of London last week, about cyber crime, and offering advice on how people can protect themselves from online fraudsters.
Pictured from Thursday, August 18, is the cyber awareness event at Bishop’s Square, Spitalfields; Justin Morgan, the Security Manager – Spitalfields Estate in front of the Get Safe Online stand. Visitors could also try out a Formula 1 racing car simulator at the Kaspersky stand; and learn from the IT security product company about how Formula 1 teams to protect their cars and systems.
Officers from the City of London Police, the banking industry and from computer software companies were there to advise the public on how they can better protect themselves from cyber crime. Earlier this year the City of London Police revealed a national cyber profile which showed that between November 2014 and October 2015 men lost on average almost three times as much money to cyber criminals than women. The average loss for men was £2,354 compared with only £809 for women. Police suggest from the reported crimes they receive that the harm caused to victims of cyber crime increases with age, with elderly victims feeling a greater impact on their health and financial well-being than younger victims.
The research used a total of 29,000 victim reports taken by Action Fraud during 2015. The data showed that women were six times more likely to become a victim of online shopping and auction fraud than men which suggests that fraudsters are targeting women who shop online. Most people who either live or work in the City of London use computers and mobile devices on a daily basis both at home and at work and it is therefore police say important that residents and commuters are aware of cyber crime and how they can protect themselves.
Detective Inspector Katie Balls said: “Cyber crime is constantly on the rise and we need to do everything we can to stop online criminals from taking advantage of people in the City. This week of activity has been set up to ensure that those in the City have all the knowledge they need to protect themselves.
“It has been predicted that 80 per cent of fraud and cyber crime is preventable if individuals and businesses follow simple advice and the more people understand online criminals, the harder it is for them to take advantage.”
