Figures prove the need for online caution
The dangers of internet scams are highlighted by the disturbing 207% rise in the number of facility takeover frauds recorded by Members of CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service.
While this rise is not solely the result of internet scams, in recent research carried out by Get Safe Online, 23% of UK internet users said that they, or their close friends and family, had been a victim of phishing scams in the past 12 month period, compared with just 8% the year before.
Richard Hurley, CIFAS Communications Manager, comments: “Although the internet has revolutionised our lives, it has also provided new avenues for fraudsters to exploit.
“The immediacy and informality of the internet make it easier for us to drop our guard, and forget that – all too often – the sender may not be who he or she is supposed to be. In the High Street, we would be understandably suspicious if someone we did not know asked us for help to withdraw funds from abroad or told us that we had won a prize draw that we had not entered. Unfortunately, when online, that natural prudence can easily be forgotten.”
