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Met Police launch special unit to tackle cyber crime and online fraud (27 October 2014)

Date: 27/10/2014
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Met Police launch special unit to tackle cyber crime and online fraud

The Metropolitan Police in London are launching a new initiative to tackle cyber crime, which costs the UK an estimated £56 billion every year.

The Evening Standard reports that the Fraud and Linked Crime Online command will cost £22 million a year to run and will employ up to 500 police officers to tackle cyber crime and online fraud.

Fraud cases doubled across England and Wales in 2013 to 230,000 – around 70% had an element of “cyber crime”.

However a criminology expert has told City Hall’s new online crime scrutiny committee that “hiving off” cyber crime to a specialist committee is not necessarily the best strategy for tackling it.

Professor Marian Fitzgerald said that targeting low level cyber crime with younger officers who are computer savvy might be more effective than spending millions of pounds every year on fighting online fraud and cyber crime.

Prof Fitzgerald said:

“A lot of these people are Xbox and PlayStation generation and they have grown up with those skills.

“Everyone now has access to the Internet and you need no more skill than to be able to log on.”

Prof Fitzgerald went on to say that those who commit cyber crime and online fraud were not necessarily specialists.

“If you go to the police side,” she added, “People are saying we need to specially train officers; but with that level stuff it’s not true because a lot of officers are also Xbox and PlayStation generation – and have the skills and would give their front teeth to have a pop at this.”

Cyber crime generally is not considered as main focus for police compared with serious crime. As a result,the police are struggling to tackle the increase in different types of cyber crime and online fraud.

Professor Martin Button from the University of Portsmouth said that the police were “behind the curve”.

“The reality is, for most police officers, fraud and online crime is pretty low on the list of priorities – it’s not the ‘sexy’ kind of crime they’re used to investigating.

“But you don’t need to be a geek to do this – the technology is very accessible, cheap and readily available.”

There are fears that the rise in online fraud and cyber-crime could hit the London economy, especially the SME sector and start-up businesses.

Duncan Lewis Fraud Lawyers

Duncan Lewis fraud lawyers can advise at any stage of a charge for fraud, including criminal charges relating to:

• Benefit fraud
• Boiler room scams
• Company fraud
• Financial fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Online fraud
• Ponzi schemes
• Pyramid schemes
• Ticketing fraud.

Duncan Lewis fraud lawyers regularly visit police stations, courts and prisons to advise on fraud charges, including youth courts and Young Offender Institutions.

For expert legal advice on fraud charges and criminal law, call Duncan Lewis fraud lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

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