The Internet is like Oxford Street - Beware of Pickpockets

The Internet is like Oxford Street. Pickpockets and con artists target Oxford Street because there are so many opportunities – people. The Internet is the same. There are now over 14.5 million UK households on broadband which creates a lot opportunities for criminals.

The E-Victims Organisation, CIC has launched the first website dedicated to helping victims of e-crime. The website (www.e-victims.org) has specialist advice for victims of e-shopping incidents. Shopping was chosen as the first topic for the new service because shoppers are a key target for Internet fraud. The www.e-victims.org website offers free advice for those who have had problems when buying online.

“The Internet is a multi-billion pound industry with almost 38 million UK Internet users. That amount of money attracts both petty and organised criminals. The professionals plan, employ experts, and invest in their scams. They use some of the most innovative direct-mail techniques. They probably get a better response rate than a top London ad agency. Their websites look as convincing as your favourite online shop, or worse - it looks identical” explains Jennifer Perry, Communications Director for The E-Victims Organisation.

Lord Erroll, who sat on the recent House of Lords enquiry into Personal Internet Security agrees, “Online scams today are getting more sophisticated and they will catch more people out. We need the www.e-victims.org service to support Internet users them. But it will also benefit business by building consumer confidence in the Internet”.

It isn’t just the criminals you have to avoid on Oxford Street. There are annoying and rude people, shouting and pushing. Leaflets for some suspicious offer are shoved into your hand. The Internet is the same with irritating websites, misleading adverts and dodgy offers. But we love them both! We like the choice, we like to look around, and amidst the chaos we love the bargains.

“The Internet is great, but when you do run into a problem you need specific advice. People need help with a wide range of Internet related problems including fraud, malware, returning goods, scams, bullying, sexual harassment, data theft and much more” says Perry.

When there are over a million people a day shopping on Oxford Street the week before Xmas, your chances of being the one to have your pocket picked, or bag snatched, is very low. But your chances of having someone annoy you are very high. The same is probably true on the Internet. The percentage of Internet users becoming a victim of e-crime is low. However, even if the percentage is small - the numbers are big. If only 1% of Internet users need help – that’s 380,000 people. If you include those that are inconvenienced, offended, misled, annoyed etc. then the numbers are much, much higher.

The E-Victims Organisation is not a reporting site, but an independent service offering people specialist advice on what to do when something has gone wrong with online shopping; and when appropriate, which agency they should contact. New advice covering a wide range of topics will steadily be added throughout 2008.

“Consumers use the service free and anonymously, we don’t ask for any personal details. However, we do gather statistics and analyse the sources of complaints because it gives us insight into the volume, trends and threats facing consumers” explains Perry.