Cyber Crime Consultation

Warwickshire County Council and key strategic partners launched their second cyber crime survey to find out how safe people feel online and assess the impact that online crime is having around the county. We wanted people residing in Warwickshire to share their experiences of online crime through a series of questions.

The survey seeks to examine how the picture has changed across Warwickshire over the past 12 months and whether residents are more aware of the dangers that can be posed online and the things that they are able to do to minimise these risks.

The survey was conducted across the West Midlands region as a whole, with colleagues from the policing areas of West Midlands, West Mercia and Staffordshire all wishing to assess the impact of online crime locally, to inform future strategies and preventative work. The survey and results focus on cyber crime at an individual level, though there is clear acknowledgement that businesses are also vulnerable to these crimes.

The full report and key findings from the survey can be found here:

https://safeinwarwickshire.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/cyber-crime-survey-web-1.pdf

Key Findings include:

• There have been nearly 15,000 successful phishing scams in Warwickshire in the last 12 months.
• Over 5,500 residents have been a victim of an online romance scam. 9,900 have been victim of identity fraud.
• 30,000 fell victim to viruses and malware.
• Over 6,000 online hate crimes.
• Other online fraud and theft equates to 21,500 victims.

Impact of the crime - The biggest impact felt by victims of cyber crime was psychological and emotional. At least £8,848,300 has been lost by Warwickshire adults as a result of cyber crime. This equates to each adult in Warwickshire losing just over £20.

Implementing cyber safety - Survey respondents suggest that the majority of residents in Warwickshire are implementing cyber safety measures.

Feeling of Risk

• 59% of those surveyed feel at risk online.
• 41% do not feel at risk online.
• Less than 1% of respondents have no idea how to protect themselves online.
• 12% are not confident that they know how to protect themselves online.
• 67% are reasonably confident; 20% are very confident.
• More people feel at risk, but only a small percentage of these do not know what to do at all to reduce this risk.
• Compared to our previous survey, while a higher proportion of the public feel at risk online (44% in 2015, compared to 59% now), fewer people have no idea how they can protect themselves online (2.4% in 2015, compared to <1% now).

Cyber crime is a real problem in Warwickshire, and many people feel at risk. However, the majority also know what measures they can take to reduce this risk. If we are to use this survey to inform our work, it would suggest that focus is given to the vulnerable groups and those who do not have any knowledge of how they can protect themselves. Our definition of vulnerable groups is those whose confidence interferes with online behaviour. This is both those who are under and over-confident while online.

Cyber Safe Warwickshire Partnership

Representatives from the county, district and borough councils, Police, Trading Standards, Office for the Police and Crime Commissioner, Education, Federation of Small Businesses, Chamber of Commerce, Youth Justice, Victim Support and Neighbourhood Watch attend. They meet quarterly to update the countywide action plan in response to cyber crime across the 4 P’s (Protect, Prepare, Prevent and Pursue).

Cyber Crime Advisors

Since April 2016, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has funded two Cyber Crime Advisors, who are hosted by Warwickshire County Council. They are tasked with raising awareness of cyber crime, providing preventative advice and signposting the public to further support and information. Their Business Crime Advisor colleague provides this service for local small and medium businesses.

The Cyber Crime Advisors are contactable via either email below; alexgloster@warwickshire.gov.uk samslemensek@warwickshire.gov.uk

The Business Crime Advisor is contactable via alexcharleswilliams@warwickshire.gov.uk