UK courts laugh at the rising tide of cyber‑fraud in 2019
UK courts have seen a modest dip in the heavyweight fraud cases that landed in their chambers over the first half of 2019—£319 million of alleged scams, down from a record‑breaking £345 million in the same period last year. 217 alleged fraud trials were held nationwide, a 13 % drop on the 249 cases that marched into court during 2018.
Inside KPMG’s “Fraud Barometer”
The Barometer tracks every case that tops the £100 K threshold, spotlighting the distances fraudsters are willing to travel to hit the headlines (and the court docket).
- Cyber‑crime has gone commercial – criminals now cheekily sign up on the dark web to advertise services like “Virus‑Free for $30.”
- Accounts takeovers are on the rise – now at 57 % higher than the previous half‑year.
- Repeat offenders are making their grand re‑entry into court, signalling a lack of deterrence.
Case in point: the Liberian “virus” debacle
A criminal created a nasty piece of malware and sent it on a cyber‑path to a communications firm in Liberia. The attack hurled the company’s services offline, costing the victim a staggering $600 000 to fix. In court, the culprit was handed a 32‑month jail term after accepting $30 000 from a rival to cause the chaos.
We’ve got a new generation of “cyber‑brokers”
Back‑to‑back account‑takeovers exposed how scammers mix and match email, SMS, and mobile apps to grab personal data. One notorious example saw a Tyneside man act as the English face for a chilling Indian scam that drained thousands from unsuspecting users. He was sentenced to 28 months at Newcastle Crown Court, after hamming up users by pretending to fix bogus “viruses” and later siphoning their bank accounts.
Many victims, often elder citizens, were tricked into calling a “free” number after a pop‑up screen or a spoken alarm screamed that their computer was infected. The “free” Call‑center was in fact a bus stop in India, ready to demand a fee. Once inside, the scammers had a private view of banking details and installed apps to loot even more.
Industry insight
Roy Waligora, KPMG UK Head of Investigations, warned that criminals are shifting from solo hack attempts to industrialised data brokerage on the dark web. “As our digital footprints expand, cyber‑criminals will keep inventing fresh ways to steal personal data,” he said. “If we stay passive, vulnerability grows—so this is why we need to stay alert and proactive.”
In short, fraudsters keep getting craftier, while courts keep battling the trickery start‑to‑finish. The first half of 2019 may have seen fewer cases than last year, but the fight for sharper vigilance remains – because every dropped case is a reminder that the cat’s always out of the bag.
