Cumbria police are urging residents to stay vigilant, this comes as fraud increased during the Covid pandemic.

Fraudsters have fleeced millions of pounds from people living in Cumbria during the coronavirus pandemic, with most victims stung in online scams, figures reveal.

Criminals have taken advantage of the rise in internet purchases as well as concerns over health and wellbeing through the crisis, says Action Fraud, the UK's fraud and cyber crime authority.

In Cumbria, 2,777 incidents of fraud and cyber crime were reported from the start of February last year to the end of March this year, according to data from Action Fraud.

The value of the crimes amounted to £8.4 million, the equivalent of about £1,988 each day.

And Cumbria's figure could be higher with some 23,600 reported offences – worth £469.4 million – not recorded to a specific police force area.

The figures also show online shopping scams were most common type of fraud and cyber crime, along with advance fee and banking frauds.

A police spokesman said: “Unfortunately a lot of people have been victim to fraud over the last year.

“Due to the pandemic more people have made the move online as restrictions prevented them from visiting the shops or their bank.

“Criminals have taken advantage of this increase to commit sophisticated scams through fake websites and fraudulent content.

"The problem comes if individuals are clicking on unreliable web pages or opening links and attachments often sent by email - a common form of scam called 'phishing'.

“We need people to remain vigilant, when it comes to phishing emails report and them to report@phishing.gov.uk by forwarding the suspicious email and then deleting it. Always avoid clinking on any links and when purchasing online always carry out research to check it’s a company you can trust before making a payment.”

A spokesperson for Action Fraud said: “In what has been an incredibly challenging year, we have sadly seen devious criminals taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic as a means to commit fraud.

"To carry out their scams, criminals have been honing in on people’s anxieties and the changes that have occurred to our daily lives, such as the fact we have all been shopping online more."

Consumer group Which? Said the figures showed online purchase scams were now being running on an "industrial scale" – and accused tech giants of not doing enough to protect users.

Adam French, consumer rights expert, said: "The coronavirus crisis has meant that more people are shopping online than ever before, while opportunistic scammers have been coming up with increasingly sophisticated tactics to steal people's money.

"Search engines and social media sites have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world, yet they are failing to use it to protect their users from scammers abusing the platforms through fake and fraudulent content."

In response, Google, which runs the most-used search engine worldwide, said it had "strict policies" over advertisements run on its platform with 3.1 billion advertisements, including 123 million for financial services, blocked and removed last year.

It also claims to block 100 million emails to users each day.

However, the company said it was seeing an increasing number of fraudsters promoting bogus businesses or running phone-based scams to lure users off its platforms and avoid detection.

The Action Fraud figures also show the age of victims in the reported fraud and cyber crime offences over the 14-month period from February last year.

In Cumbria, the most commonly targeted were people aged between 50 and 59, with around 478 reported victims making up 17 per cent of all those who gave an age.

There were 859 reports with victims aged 60 and over – 31 per cent – including 18 aged between 90 and 99.

Everybody can find advice for their online safety and internet security from the National Cyber Security Centre: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/

To report a scam call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Cumbria Police have provided the following advice:

  • Don’t click on links or attachments in suspicious emails.
  • Never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details.
  • Shopping online – If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know or trust, carry out research first and ask a friend or family member for advice. Where possible, use a credit card to make the payment.
  • Protect your devices from the latest threats. Always install the latest software and app updates.