e-crime
E-crimE is costing businEss billions of pounds a yEar, but as inform
rEports, hElp is availablE to stop thE hackErs.
crime cONTrOL.
A dedicated centre to combat e-crime is helping businesses in standing at £2.5 billion each year.
the region protect themselves from the cyberspace menace It might be called phishing and spamming today, but
and the fear it creates among customers. online criminals are simply using new technology to carry
out age-old offences.
The Business Crime Reduction Centre (BCRC), which is As David Ransom from the BCRC says: “E-crime is just the
financed by Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional old-fashioned crimes of fraud and deception played out on a
Development Fund, and run by charity People United Against modern stage and everyone is affected by it. But as long as
Crime, aims to raise awareness of e-crime, identify the risks businesses are vigilant they have nothing to fear.”
and help businesses solve the problem. The BCRC can make a real difference to business, not just
A recent survey of businesses shows around a third have been through its practical advice but also, very importantly, because
affected by ‘phishing’, the practice of sending fake emails to it aims to decrease the fear of e-crime both for companies and
capture companies’ sensitive financial information. In addition, their clients. This sort of crime – and the uncertainty surrounding
seven per cent say they have been ‘hacked’. it – is very counterproductive for enterprise.
This is only the tip of the iceberg where e-crime is concerned. The centre has useful advice on its website and also holds
Underneath the surface lies spyware, hacking, spamming workshops for SMEs to show how they can protect their business.
and credit card fraud, with the estimated cost to UK business It can also send advisors into businesses which need help.
“
E-CRIME IS jUST ThE oLD-
FAShIonED CRIMES oF FRAUD
AnD DECEPTIon PLAYED oUT on A
MoDERn STAgE AnD EvERYonE
“
IS
AFFECTED BY IT. BUT AS Long AS
BUSInESSES ARE vIgILAnT ThEY
hAvE noThIng To FEAR
Robert Ling, Yorkshire Forward’s business improvement
manager, says businesses need to seek the right advice:
“E-crime can be a big drain on resources but by taking simple
steps you can steer clear of trouble. There are even signs
that the problem is diminishing in South Yorkshire because
of initiatives like the BCRC, which is based there.”
The BCRC’s message for businesses is to look out for anything
unusual and to have robust internal processes in place to
counteract fraudulent activity from the outside and among staff.
As ever, prevention is better than cure, the BCRC argues.
Companies worried about e-crime can approach
Business Link, which has an established relationship
with the centre. The BCRC can then send out one of its
five advisors if appropriate.
www.bcrc-uk.org
www.businesslink.gov.uk/yorkshire
iNfOrm January 2009 pagE 20
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