Firms 'should invest in online security'

2009-08-04

Companies should invest in internet security so that they can protect themselves from fraud while trading on the internet, it has been claimed.

Crime can hit businesses in a variety of ways, according to a spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), including id fraud and internet crime such as phishing scams.

He said that data from the FSB, which now has over 205,000 members across 33 regions and 230 branches, shows small enterprises lose an average of £13,500 each because of crime every year.

Small businesses lose up to £800 every year because of fraud and internet crime, the spokesperson asserted.

"FSB statistics show that 64 per cent of businesses have been a victim of crime in the last year - a rise from 57 per cent in 2006," he added.

His comments come after the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) reported in July that 350,000 offences against firms can be found in police crime records covering the 2008-09 period.

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