Online extortion cases reported to the police increased nearly two-fifths in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to international law firm RPC.
The findings cover the full year to December 2022 and come from Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime.
They uncovered 3,200 reports of cyber extortion last year, including cases of ransomware, sextortion, and data theft and ransom demands. That’s up from 2,300 in 2021, according to RPC.
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The law firm also revealed an 8% increase in reports by email and social media hack victims, from 13,500 in 2021 to 14,600 in 2022.
These incidents are often the first stage of an identity theft attack, where the email of a lawyer, accountant, or other trusted person is hijacked to send fraudulent messages to the victim to get the scammer to transfer funds. RPC claimed that it would be used for
Richard Blevington, partner and head of cyber technology insurance at RPC, said attacks against large organizations have declined over the past year, but small businesses and individuals still struggle to effectively manage their cyber risks. said there is.
“It is a false economy for small businesses to cut costs and not invest in properly training their staff on how to manage their data and how to avoid phishing attacks. , some of which are aimed at small businesses to cover the costs of coping with data breaches,” he added.
“However, some of these policies require that basic security measures be in place. While insurance cannot completely eliminate the impact of data breaches, such as reputational damage, businesses You can get back on your feet faster.”
According to the latest government breach survey, only 36% of micro and small businesses currently have cyber insurance. This number rises to 63% for midsize companies and 55% for large companies.
On a more positive note, action fraud statistics reveal that other forms of cybercrime are on the decline. Malware reports fell from 7,200 in 2021 to 5,300 last year, while reports related to hacking of servers, PCs and phones fell 10% over the same period to 5,200 last year.
