Britain's crooks take criminal careers online

Warnings about the growing threat of cyber crime often conjure images of technical sleuths undertaking sophisticated hacking missions into bank accounts and websites. However, the reality may be distinctly more amateur, according to new research from Cambridge university.

The study by Jon Boutcher, deputy chief constable at Bedfordshire police, found that 64 per cent of cyber criminals have convictions for non-cyber offences such as theft and assault: having moved their operations from the real world to the internet, they are largely self-taught in the arts of e-crime.

The research, which combed the criminal back histories of hundreds of cyber offenders, showed that most of those who were convicted did not possess specialist skills or technical knowledge, "just an interest in the topic". Those quoted in the report said they had learnt their skills on YouTube and online forums.

"I was given simple instructions which I followed," one comments. "It seemed so simple to commit the fraud and make easy money," says another.

This evolution from so-called "traditional" crimes to online offences would help explain why crime levels have fallen by a quarter under this parliament, despite cuts to police budgets and officer numbers. While police forces and statisticians are well equipped to measure offences such as burglary, robbery and theft, assessing the scale of online crimes is much harder. As a result, the official crime data published by the Office of National Statistics does not include cyber offences, or the growing number of frauds perpetrated online.

Mr Boutcher's research, which found that only 11 per cent of cyber crimes are even reported to police, raises serious questions about the current statistics, concluding that cyber crime levels are "significantly higher" than those reflected in the figures.

The ONS is aware of these shortcomings, and acknowledges that the lack of cyber data are an "important gap". It now plans to introduce new questions on online offences into its crime survey, which should be reflected in its official data starting from spring 2016.

However, there are also problems with the law enforcement response to cyber offences. Mr Boutcher, who also helps advise UK police forces on the national cyber crime response alongside his duties in Bedfordshire, is sympathetic to colleagues who are struggling to adapt to new criminal methods at a time of austerity. But he points out that Action Fraud, the central repository for cyber offences nationally, has no role in tracking or monitoring the crime once it is allocated to a police force for further inquiry.

"This represents a major flaw in the recording and investigative process," his report reads. "There is insufficient targeting of cyber criminals; the UK is certainly not an environment that is hostile for cyber offenders."

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The Conservative party's manifesto includes a pledge to improve UK cyber response by expanding the number of volunteer police officers with technical expertise.

Meanwhile Yvette Cooper, Labour's shadow home secretary, says her party has frequently warned the government that crime is changing. "From grooming children to financial fraud, cyber crime is soaring and the police are struggling to keep up," she told the Financial Times.

"But 17,000 police have been cut since 2010 and the Conservatives want to go further in the next parliament. This is the wrong decision when police forces are coping with this growth in new and emerging online crime."

Ms Cooper added that a future Labour government would set up a new "FraudWatch" website to build up intelligence on online criminals, and seek to lure the best IT graduates into police forces to help combat the increasing cyber threat.

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