A study carried out by Invenio Research for the insurer LV= has shown evidence that burglars may be specifically targeting victims for their personal details.

The LV= report found that a credit card, coupled with a form of ID such as a bank statement, utility bill or National Insurance number, are prized items on the black market as they make it easier for fraudsters to steal an identity. Individual identity documents can change hands for around £15, whereas fraudsters will typically pay £150 for a ‘bundle’ of personal identity information.

The survey of domestic burglary victims involved telephone interviews with 202 adult participants and was conducted between April and August 2009. Data from fraudsters were gathered by means of semi-structured interviews conducted at public locations around the country.

The press release from LV= may be found here.

Invenio Research has produced the annual Garlik UK Cybercrime report, now in its third year. This report has analysed publicly available data to build a comprehensive view of cybercrime in the UK. It reveals that during 2008 cybercriminals adapted to the social and economic changes in the UK to exploit victims in new ways and continue to extort funds. In addition, the report highlights that there is a growing complacency amongst consumers demonstrating a poor understanding of their personal responsibility to protect their personal information against fraud.

For more information, visit the Garlik website here.

Is the current test of dishonesty in the criminal law of England and Wales fair?

The Honesty Lab was designed to explore public perceptions of honesty and dishonesty and to investigate whether we all agree on what conduct is honest and dishonest. Under current criminal law, there is no positive definition of dishonesty, but a defendant is found to have acted dishonestly if they were aware that their conduct was dishonest according to the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people and they themselves realised that this was the case.

Honesty Lab has investigated whether there is a common standard of dishonesty in today’s society and considered whether other factors affect our judgement of honest or dishonest acts: for example how the ‘defendant’ looks and whether or not we can relate to the person or act in question.

Initial findings were presented at the British Science Festival at the University of Surrey on Thursday 10 September 2009.

Honesty Lab is supported by the British Science Association and sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council.

The British Science Association and ESRC are pleased to support the Science: [So what? So everything] campaign.