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eCrime

What is it?

eCrime, or Cybercrime, is one of the fastest-growing criminal activities of recent years.

It covers a huge range of illegal activity including financial scams, computer hacking, downloading pornographic images from the internet, virus attacks, online stalking (or cyberbullying of young people) and creating websites that promote racial hatred.

Scams by cyber-criminals include setting up bogus companies on the internet. Unsuspecting buyers are offered products at tempting prices, and then supply their credit card details - only to find that the site suddenly disappears.

Another 21st century crime is identity theft. This usually does not involve hacking at all. Criminals can trawl the web or other public databases for information about someone's date of birth and address and then use that to apply for credit cards and run up huge bills.

Victim impact

You may feel attacked and powerless to defend yourself even if you are computer literate. Some people might feel embarrassed about this kind of crime because they may have been tricked or think they could have done more to protect themselves.

Practical solutions

Here are some things you can do to help protect yourself against cyber crime:

• • make sure your computer has at least a standard firewall and virus guard
  • if you receive strange emails in your inbox don't open them, delete them straight away
  • make sure when you buy things online you use secure websites including those with high security encrypted payment pages
  • put an adult block on your computer that blocks unsavoury websites
  • keep a close-eye on who your children are emailing in chat rooms and online

You can find more information about online scams, how to report them and how to shop safely online by visiting the Consumerline website, run by the Consumer Council.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland also have crime prevention information on the Personal Fraud section of their website, with advice on how to protect yourself against such crimes as internet/post scams and identity theft.

How we can help

However you are feeling or whenever the cyber crimes took place, you can talk to someone from Victim Support in complete confidence. We can help, whether or not you have reported the incident to police. Most people want to talk to someone about what has happened and how they are feeling. Friends and family can be very helpful, but our volunteers are specially trained to listen and understand. We can also give useful information to help you deal with some of the problems the crime has caused. And we can offer practical help too.