The data, conducted by Get Safe Online, reveals that losses from online fraud are now running at more than GBP 670 million a year, though with many cases going unreported, the true economic cost could be higher. Get Safe Online is an internet security awareness initiative that is a joint partnership between the government, the National Crime Agency, the telecoms regulator Ofcom, law enforcement bodies and a number of major companies including Barclays and PayPal.
Just over half (51%) of the people surveyed said they had been a victim of online crime, a category which includes internet-based fraud, ID theft, hacking and online abuse.
However, less than a third (32%) of the cybercrime victims said they had reported the incident. Around half (47%) of those affected did not know who to report an online crime to.
Findings also indicate that those who had suffered some form of cybercrime said the experience had shocked them into changing their behaviour for the better, with almost half (45%) opting for stronger passwords and 42% saying they were now more vigilant when shopping online.
Separate figures from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau showed that for the UK as a whole, more than GBP 670 million was lost to the 10 most common online frauds between September 2013 and August 2014.
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