Small businesses warned over internet crime

Date: 31st January 2008

An increasing number of business start-ups are aware of the threat of "cyber crime", the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has stated.

The organisation said that small firms in the UK are becoming more knowledgeable about the dangers of phishing emails and other fraudulent activities, but stated that online crime is very much still "an issue" for business owners.

A previous survey by the FSB found that about 20 per cent of small companies have been deterred from making more use of internet resources due to the security risks, while other people may have been put off going into business altogether.

"It's a huge statistic really, if you're looking to improve or boost enterprise in the UK," an FSB spokesperson said.

"The sort of impression we get when we do crime surveys is that there's a wide range of different crimes and different issues that [small business owners] have been victim to," she added.

Last year, a separate survey by Get Safe Online claimed that 44 per cent of Britain's small businesses have experienced internet crimes such as data theft and identity fraud.