CYBER criminals pocketed more than £400,000 in six months by ripping off victims in Cumbria.

Digital con artists carried out dozens of scams - stealing details and raiding cash sources after tricking people into divulging information.

The startling extent of this avenue of offending comes after it emerged crimefighters are placing greater emphasis than ever on advising people to be careful online.

The county force has had to double its cyber crime budget in a decade.

The latest figures emerged from Cumbria's crime commissioner, Peter McCall.

In his newly-published annual report, he details some of the statistics involved in cyber crime in the county.

Figures for a six-month period last year showed that in Cumbria there were 44 offences classed as "cyber dependent" crime.

Thirteen of these were classed as hacking - the most common offence.

The total loss to victims in these crimes was £13,000.

But there were also 66 crimes classed as "cyber enabled".

The majority of these were described as computer service fraud.

This could be from someone pretending to be contacting the victim from a service centre - or calling saying they could "fix" a computer.

The total cost of these crimes to the victims reached about £400,000.

Mr McCall said: "These figures tell me that people are still vulnerable to those who try to exploit us.

"I hear all too frequently of cases where people are succumbing to scams over the telephone and through rogue emails.

"The problem is that those perpetrating such offences sound so convincing and very often the more vulnerable are those more likely to be targeted,

"We do more and more online these days.

"So it is really important that we take simple steps to protect ourselves from criminal activities such as this, which makes it all the more important to spread the word."

Cumbria's police force is now spending more than half a million pounds a year in the fight against digital criminality - up from just £250,000 in 2010.

Along with other UK police forces, Cumbria Constabulary are now working with the National Crime Agency and international agencies to help catch cyber criminals.

Residents, businesses and organisations are being urged to tighten up their digital security in a bid to stop online thieves gaining a foothold in Cumbria.

In recent weeks, malware attacks wreaked havoc upon the IT systems of North Lakes College, in west Cumbria, and Copeland Council.

Tech criminals have also targeted other organisations across the county in the last three years.

Allerdale Council has been the subject of a cyber attack and a further four were aimed at Barrow Council during the same period.

These incidents are in addition to May's notorious worldwide WannaCry virus, which locked NHS computer systems while demanding a ransome paid in the virtual currency Bitcoin.

It left North Cumbria University Hospitals Trust which runs Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary as well as the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven, the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, which operates Furness General Hospital in Barrow, and the Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust, without access to vital software for several days.

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Former police chief: "It's the tip of the iceberg".

Stuart Hyde, a digital crime specialist best known for his time as chief constable of Cumbria, believes the figures are a "gross underestimation".


"Most people still do not report it to the police or Action Fraud," said Mr Hyde.

"Those figures will be the absolute bare minimum.

"That is just recorded fraud. It's not everybody that has lost money.

"My advice to people would be to constantly check their bank accounts, even for small amounts going missing."

Mr Hyde, managing director of Stuart Hyde Associates, said scams and attacks can come from close to home - or from across the globe.

"Some of it could be local - or some could be international, where people are looking round for somebody to respond," he added.

Mr Hyde retired from Cumbria Police in 2013.

He "absolutely" thought this type of crime had grown in the intervening years.

"They can come in as an email asking for information," he said.

"Quite a lot of popular ones pretend to be friends stuck in difficult situations or fake emails where somebody will pretend to be somebody they aren't.

"Quite common at the moment is one known as the chief executive officer fraud.

"Senior people who are on holiday, their PA gets an email from them saying please can you deal with this invoice.

"But of course it isn't them."

Mr Hyde highlighted the role of CiSP - a joint industry and government initiative set up to exchange cyber threat information.

Go to: www.ncsc.gov.uk/cisp

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Experts brought in to help Cumbria tackle cyber crime

A national company has been commissioned to deliver a programme of cyber safety and awareness in Cumbria over the next three years.

Get Safe Online will work with partnerships of public agencies covering the county to pass on tips and advice.

Mr McCall said: "More and more people live their lives online, whether it be through their mobile phone, tablet or computer.

"This is changing the way that criminals target people.

"This project is about people protecting themselves."

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Top tips to beef up your cyber security

– Get a strong password. Random combinations of words, letters or digits are much more impenetrable to hackers than your surname followed by 123.

– Be aware of how much information you are already giving away on social media. If everyone already knows your home city or mother's maiden name, these are not good security questions.

– Install anti-virus software on your laptop or PC. Attempting to prevent an attack will save you hours of time and plenty of stress in the long run.

– Be vigilant against phishing emails. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated in the way they attempt to get us to click on a link to a virus. Many now look authentic but are not really from your bank or online account.