Topic: 300 online crimes an hour in UK

[Clive]

There are more than 300 online crimes committed in the UK every hour, according to a report published today.

Online identity firm Garlik estimates that more than three million crimes were carried out on the web in the UK last year, of which 60 per cent were personal crimes including abusive and defamatory emails or forum postings as well as blackmail.

Tom Ilube, chief executive of Garlik, said: "Our study demonstrates how real and widespread a problem it is, covering illegal activities from computer hacking, stalking or bullying via the internet, financial scams and identity theft.

"With information about individuals circulating the internet reaching high levels it's ever more important for people to be vigilant about handing out their personal data online to ensure that criminals don't use and abuse it," Ilube contined.

Garlik also found that more than 200,000 instances of online fraud took place last year and estimated that more than 90 per cent of online crime goes unreported.

Stefan Fafinski, chief executive of criminology firm 1871 Ltd, said: "Although measuring cybercrime is difficult, it is clear that in many instances it is outstripping 'traditional' crime.

"This is a result of the unparalleled opportunities that the internet gives both for making familiar crimes easier and for enabling 'pure' cybercrimes that could not exist without the internet," Fafinski continued.

www.garlik.com

[Rik]

Which makes it the more unbelievable that police no longer take reports on credit card fraud/theft.

[GillE]

Who are Garlik?  I've never heard of them.  Are they reputable?  Could someone have stolen their identity and be masquerading as them?  Think I'd need confirmation of these claims from other sources before taking them at their word.

Gill

[Clive]

I think they appear to be a legitimate company Gill.  My source for this story was WebUser magazine and I found a reference to Garlik in THIS BBC news story.