'Silent stealing': cyber fraudsters expand mass, low-return operations in the pandemic

Criminals are targeting hundreds of thousands of individuals for as little as £10, reasoning that such thefts are less likely to be reported

Scammers are moving away from targeting businesses for huge amounts of money in favour of 'silent stealing': attempting to con individuals out of low sums on a mass scale, a new report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has warned.

The report, entitled The UK's Response To Cyber Fraud: A Strategic Vision, claims that the cyber fraud in the UK is 'rampant, costing millions of pounds and leaving victims in its wake'.

The number of cyber fraud victims in the country is slowly increasing, with most small-scale thefts not being reported, or being overlooked by law enforcement.

'There's a working hypothesis that criminals are going down market,' the report says.

'Yes, trying to steal £10m from a bank is an option, but stealing £10 a hundred thousand times is going to give you a good return and probably go below the radar.'

'Are you going to call Action Fraud or your bank in the case where you lose £10?'

Sneha Dawda, one of the report authors, says the huge volumes of breached data available on the web makes it easy for scammers to buy personal information and use it for online fraud.

The shift to home working during the Covid-19 pandemic has also thrown new light on the UK's cyber crime vulnerability, say the researchers.

The researchers surveyed 180 people, including financial services personnel, law enforcement representatives, cyber security experts, academic researchers, and intelligence analysts. Nearly 70 per cent said that despite an increase in remote working in past months, businesses have largely failed to make increased efforts to improve their cyber security.

Most people are still reliant on less secure household devices, while many employees working from home are not alert about online safety practices.

The report also calls for a more organised and coordinated response to cyber fraud, with stronger Government leadership.

The RUSI makes 11 recommendations, including upscaling of 'pursue' activities to include a more prominent role for pre-emptive technical takedowns, and private sector partnerships.

The report also suggests publishing comprehensive guidance for private entities on how they can assist law enforcement agencies in preventing cyber fraud through information sharing.

"Cybercrime is not only a threat to national prosperity and economic security, but, on a deeper level, it undermines our trust in technology," said Sir John Hayes MP.

"The consistent application of well-defined policy, supported by enhanced skills, is essential to enable law enforcement to stay ahead of criminals who seek to undermine the prosperity of the UK, ruining lives and livelihoods," he added.

Commander Stephen Head (Retd), former National Coordinator for Policing Economic Crime, commented: "As we increasingly live our lives online, we have found ourselves more and more at risk from cyber-enabled fraud. Criminals and, in some instances, state actors have used the power of the internet to industrialise fraud."

"Law enforcement, business and individuals must work more closely together to prevent harm and actively pursue and hold to account cyber criminals."