New e-crime unit funding 'ridiculous'

Security firms and business groups have criticised funding levels for the newly formed Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), with one saying the Government is "setting itself up for ridicule".

The 3rd Man, Corporate IT Forum and the British Chambers of Commerce have criticised the £7m allowance, which they say is insufficient to tackle the problem of online fraud.

The PCeU was announced this week by the Home Office, and has been set up to coordinate law enforcement against all online crimes. This includes card not present (CNP) fraud, which the Government says accounts for more than 80 per cent of crime on the internet.

The unit will run in conjunction with the National Fraud Reporting Centre and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. It will receive £3.5m of Government funding and £3.9m from the Metropolitan Police Service over three years.

However, security firm the 3rd Man described this funding as a “drop in the ocean”.

Andrew Goodwill, director of the company, said: “The latest fraud figures show that the last amount of card fraud cost £180m and the fact the Government plans to combat this with £7m is ridiculous. It can’t expect to fund a crime unit with £7m."

“The Government is setting itself up for ridicule,” he added.

David Roberts, chief executive of the Corporate IT Forum, agreed, saying: " £7m over three years seems a very small sum for a very large problem."

"We doubt whether it will be enough to tackle an issue that the Home Office itself calls a global menace," he said.

Gareth Elliott, policy adviser at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: " It is a step in the right direction but £7m does not seem like very much compared to the cost of cybercrime".

However, the British Banking Association and the UK Payments Association, APACS, welcomed the new unit. Although neither body would comment on its funding, both said that any initiative to tackle online fraud was a “good idea”.

E-crime Minister Vernon Coaker said: "It is important that we stay one step ahead of criminals who increasingly use sophisticated computer networks and the internet to commit and facilitate crime.”