Cybercrime increased by more than a third in 2020 as criminals tried to capitalise on various aspects of the Covid-19 crisis.
Suffolk police dealt with 36.7% more incidents than on average across the previous three years, according to the most recent figures.
The number of crimes increased from an average of 1,409 in 2017-19 to a total of 1,926 in the year of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the overall solved rate fell from 11.2% of crimes on average to 9.8% last year.
Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Wallace said the rise was disappointing, but not hugely surprising, given the increased amount of time spent online in lockdown.
Due to the way fraud is reported, with large volumes often not Suffolk-based, Det Ch Insp Wallace said local focus remained mainly on prevention and protection, while the force worked closely to monitor reports with Action Fraud.
"The complexity, change and reliance of technology and sophistication of tactics by criminals has led to rise in all fraud nationally and is a global crime where criminals not restricted by geographical border," she added.
"This can cover romance fraud, various scams or ‘phishing’ and even blackmail.
"Suffolk has a specialist cyber team in addition to specialist fraud trained officers who look to prosecute those found committing such offences, as well as alerting the public about fraud prevention wherever possible."
Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore, who has invested in IT and specialist digital support staff for the constabulary’s cyber unit at Halesworth, said: “Sadly, the pandemic has shown a rise in online crime as many of us spend more time in front of computers and devices.
"To know that criminals use the pandemic to exploit the vulnerability of people for their gain is absolutely appalling.
“Investment in detection is only one part of the jigsaw; so much more needs to be done to raise awareness of the dangers of being on line and also to develop a joined up approach across government, the tech companies and all the security services.”
For advice on reporting and preventing cybercrime, visit actionfraud.police.uk or suffolk.police.uk/advice/cybercrime.
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