In 2023 crime is moving more into the virtual space as it’s an easier option for criminals when governments, businesses and individuals run their day-to-day activities online, meaning financial and personal data is essentially there for the taking.
According to the Quarterly Fraud and Cyber Crime Report 2023 between January and March in the UK there were more than 85,000 cybercrimes reported with a monetary loss of £527 million.
Here are the Top 3 Frauds:
1. Advance FeeFraud - The most common cybercrime during this period was advance fee fraud where scammers encourage a victim to pay up front for a service or item which never materialises. At a cost of an average of £2,768 per transaction this has ended up costing victims £25 million.
Common scams include offering a special deal on something but ‘only if you buy now,’ handling fees on a competition win, or asking for help in transferring money from a foreign account.
2. Banking Fraud - In 2023, 242 banks in the UK are set for closure on top of the 5,162 which have already closed since 2015. This has pushed more people to bank online, as they don’t have a branch to visit on the high street. Unsurprisingly this has led to more cybercriminals targeting online banking. In the first quarter of 2023 this cost victims £67.8 million.
There has also been a 50% increase in the deployment of mobile banking malware, meaning phones are now just as big a target as our PCs and laptops
3. Consumer Fraud - Since the pandemic in 2020, most UK high streets have become a row of cafes, restaurants and charity shops, meaning online shopping has increased and in May 2022 it accounted for 26.6% of all retail sales.
As one would expect as sales increase so does consumer fraud which includes online shopping fraud, which in the first quarter of 2023 amounted to more than £13 million and 20% of all cybercrime. Consumer fraud also includes stealing data, passwords or money directly.
How to keep yourself safe online
Living our lives online is not something that is likely to change or even reduce over the coming years so to remain safe from cybercriminals we need to be smarter when online. There are a few simple steps to take which can go someway to ensuring our safety.
1. Multi-factor authentication – As frustrating as it can be to have to use a password and another form of authentication like a fingerprint or temporary pin, this can make it more difficult if not impossible for hackers to infiltrate our systems.
2. Passwords – We all know that we should have different passwords for each login, and to ensure they are complex with a random collection of letters, numbers and symbols, but we should also ensure that any new devices have the default passwords changed. For example many of the default passwords for your home security, wi-fi or internet of things are simple (e.g. 1234, password) and can be hacked in milliseconds by cybercriminals.
3. Secure Wi-Fi! – Many public places entice customers in with free wi-fi, which can mean you can do your shopping or banking without using your data. Great, right? No, not if it is an unsecured connection. Anything you do on your phone or laptop via an unsecured network can be intercepted by a hacker meaning they could have your banking, credit card or login details for whichever sites you visited.
4. Updated software – The real key to being safe online is by having up to date operating systems and software, including anti-virus and malware protection. This is the same for your mobile, desktop and laptop. Every week ensure all the updates are done.
Keeping safe online whilst simple can be difficult to maintain as it is not a one-and-done activity. Cybercriminals rely on people slipping with the updates, logging on to unsecured networks and having the same simple password across all accounts.
However, cybersecurity is a task that is easy to outsource to an IT support company like Supportwise as we can ensure everything is up to date but can also monitor your systems and catch problems before they arise.
For more details and a no obligation chat drop us an email or call us today.