Understanding the journeys of online crime victims through law enforcement and support organisations in Britain

Digital technology has broadened online crime (the term here denotes cybercrime and
fraud) enabling transnational offending. This research concerns victims of online crime and asks whom individuals and organisations can approach for help and advice after becoming a victim of online crime. Adopting an exploratory methodology, the research maps organisations, processes and connections between organisations supporting victims. The mapping process and the resulting data displays illustrate the journeys that victims of online crime take and how law enforcement, support organisations and service providers support victims. Snowball sampling was used to recruit 46 participants in the UK, who either worked with or were victims of online crime. Recruited participants worked in Britain’s law enforcement, government, businesses and support organisations. Through semi-structured interviews in addition to analysing official documents and reports, the research uncovered the roles and connections between specialist law enforcement units and support organisations supporting victims of online crime. Since 2010, the UK has categorised cybercrime as a Tier One threat and a Serious and Organised Crime (SOC). The research uncovered how Britain’s law enforcement considered cybercrime a SOC after WannaCry and adopted the 4P (Protect, Prevent, Pursue and Prepare) strategy from counterterrorism. In Britain, law enforcement operates within designated geographical boundaries which complicates their work concerning online crime that disregards boundaries. The research shows that law enforcement and its partners duplicate efforts and highlights that while support organisations support individuals, generally, they do not assist businesses. Further, the sheer volume of online crime seems to have overwhelmed law enforcement despite increased resourcing levels. While Action Fraud’s reporting systems are outdated and victims rarely report online crimes, participants reveal how victims struggle with feelings of blame, shame and embarrassment. The main contributions are the data displays and uncovering the vastly different journeys travelled by victims of cybercrime and online fraud.