Busted: Police unit saves UK £140m in crackdown on digital crime
The Met Police continues to target online criminals...
The Metropolitan Police's digital crime unit has saved the economy more than £140m in the last six months by targeting online criminals, according to newly released figures.
The Met Police's digital crime unit has saved the UK economy more than £140m in the last six monthsPhoto: Shutterstock
The Met's Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU), is an 85-strong team whose remit is to tackle those responsible for the most serious digital crime such as computer intrusion, distribution of malware, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and internet fraud.
The £140m represents the amount of money the UK has been prevented from losing through cybercrime. The PCeU said this saving is the result of a number of successful prosecutions and operations by the unit.
The PCeU received £30m in additional funding early this year, and in return was set a target of delivering £504m of "harm reduction" during a four-year period.
Detective superintendent Charlie McMurdie, from the PCeU, said in a statement: "The PCeU continues to take action in its continuing efforts to reduce the harm caused to the UK economy and to UK citizens by those making use of the internet to commit crime."
Recent victories for the unit include Operation Pagode, which prevented £84m worth of harm. Five defendants were jailed for a total of fifteen and a half years following an investigation into a group of internet fraudsters who set up an online 'criminal forum', which traded unlawfully obtained credit card details and tools to commit computer offences.
Other work by the unit included Operation Dynamophone, which prevented £5.5m worth of harm. Following the operation, three men were jailed for a total of thirteen and a half years for their part in a sophisticated and concerted attack on the UK and international banking system. The prosecutions are believed to be the first in the UK involving such detailed evidence of an organised internet phishing operation.