Responding to the growing threat posed by criminals preying on internet users, the Government and the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit today launched a campaign to raise awareness of the risks posed by online crime and what can be done to prevent it.

"Increasingly we are seeing organised criminals turning to the internet as a vehicle for their criminality," said Sharon Lemon, the head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit. "As more of us are connecting to the internet to shop, bank and communicate, we need to make sure that we do so as safely as possible. Get Safe Online gives the public the information they need to protect themselves."

Research conducted by the campaign organisers suggests that nearly 90 per cent of people are aware that making their computer safe should be a high priority, but more than half are unaware of how to do so.

The campaign urges internet users to protect their computers by installing online security packages. These products, which are available from high-street and online computer stores, should include:

The campaign, which includes a road show that will visit 12 cities throughout the country, also encourages computer users to learn about the risks and thus be better prepared to avoid them.

Much of the advice involves transferring behaviour from the offline world to the internet: you wouldn’t give your credit card number to a stranger in the street, so don’t give it to a stranger online, and just as you lock your house to keep criminals out, make sure your computer is secured for the same reasons.

The need to tackle online crime has become more urgent in recent years as the internet has become an integral part of the economy. According to the business analysts Jupiter Research, online retailing is now worth £10 billion to the UK economy annually. Online crime and the damage it does to consumer confidence in the system could limit the potential for further growth.

Colin Whittaker, head of security at Apacs, which represents UK banks on payment issues, said that online fraud is a significant problem, but that consumer fear presents more of a problem to banks than the money lost to criminals.

"It is incredibly difficult to determine figures for losses," he said. "It’s significant but I do not believe it’s up to the mark we see reported." He denied reports that banks frequently keep quiet about fraud in order to maintain confidence in their systems, insisting that they are required to report any losses under the Financial Services Act.

Mr Whittaker said that increased use of online security packages could make a big dent in the problem of internet crime, but that it would be difficult to eliminate it entirely because criminals continually develop new ways of getting through.

"If you could get everyone to install the [security] programs and everyone to update them at the same time then you could eliminate the problem for that instant," he said. "But the next day there would be a problem again."

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