Online fraud is the great legal challenge of the early 21st century, says John Cooper QC
The extent of online fraud has become so significant that only a few weeks ago, the Police Commissioner for the City of London, Adrian Leppard, declared that individuals needed to take more responsibility for online security because, put simply, the police cannot cope. He called for a national campaign to raise awareness as to the dangers both individuals and corporations face from this enormous threat.
Impact of online fraud
We should be under no illusion as to the impact of this fraud upon the national economy, where it is estimated to cost the UK more than £50bn every year with crimes ranging from investment fraud schemes to the hacking of businesses to obtain that most valuable of commodities, personal data.
In fact, the full extent of the damage being done to business may be significantly underestimated, in that some entities which depend upon public trust in their security are not reporting security breaches to the law enforcement authorities and simply compensating clients to mitigate against potentially
