Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland, has issued a plea for more funding to be allocated to bolstering its efforts in tackling organised crime and building cyber-resilience. This comes on the heels of the organisation’s six-month trial of a multi-agency triage hub, which recovered over £3 million in defrauded funds. 

Now, the organisation which seeks to tackle cyber and fraud in Scotland is seeking funding to develop and expand the model into a fully sustainable charitable organisation. 

“The startling results of our triage hub trial have demonstrated the need to dedicate resources to tackling cyber-crime,” said Jude McCorry, CEO of Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland. 

“We prioritise collaboration every step of the way, beginning by working with victims to report cyber-crime and fraud and staying by their side throughout their journey, concluding by helping affected organisations to avoid future attacks. With further investment we can continue to deliver positive outcomes for businesses, at a time when being alert to cyber-threats has never been more crucial,” McCorry continued. 

According to Police Scotland, there are 18,000 fraud calls annually, and 95% of them are cyber-enabled. Businesses are uniquely implicated in the rising threat of cyber-fraud, according to an estimate from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), over 2 million cases of cyber-fraud were reported by UK businesses in the past year. Of these 49,000 cases directly attributed to cyber-crime. 

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In Scotland, the number of reported cyber-crime incidents have doubled between 2019-2020, and 2022-2023 with Business Email Compromise (BEC), CEO impersonation, and crypto and investment fraud dominating the landscape.

“Experiencing a cyber-attack has a profound and long-lasting effect on people, and it’s important to receive the right support and guidance afterwards,” said Stuart Williams, trust manager at the Rousay, Egilsay & Wyre Development Trust, which was defrauded of £120,000 from a cyber-attack. 

“The Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland signposted us towards crucial resources in the aftermath of the incident and gave us timely and informed advice about which steps to take next. Thankfully our outcome was a positive one and we received a full refund through our bank,” he continued.