The huge cost of cyber crime
Crime agencies are facing increasingly sophisticated groups targeting individuals, businesses and organisations online. The estimated cost of cyber crime to the global economy is US$400 billion a year. At the Web Summit in Dublin law enforcement agencies have described the tough battle they are facing; up against criminals driven by money and/or political motives. European crime agency Europol says that while western agencies and governments are working together on the threats the criminals are often in jurisdictions where political tensions make cooperation harder.
Scammers posing as schools in purchase order deception
The FBI is warning of a scam involving African criminals posing as schools in order to obtain large quantities of goods using fraudulently obtained lines of credit. The criminals contact suppliers pretending to be from genuine schools and obtain credit lines before purchasing large quantities of goods; US$200,000 in one instance. Goods are then sent to an address and redirected aboard or the school’s genuine address is used with the scammers contacting them to ask for the return of ‘goods shipped in error’. If you have clients who sell items that schools may be likely to order, such as computer hardware and consumables, office and play equipment, cleaning equipment etc; then they should be vigilant.
Traffic accidents are number one cause of youth deaths worldwide
A new study released by the Allianz Center for Technology found that traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for youths, regardless of a country’s economic well-being. Thirty-one percent of all traffic-related deaths in the world are youth and young adults, aged between 15 and 29 years. This translates to more than 400,000 lives lost per year, which exceeds youth deaths caused by diseases, drug use, suicide, violence or war-related events. Every year, nearly 1.3 million people die due to traffic accidents, and more than 50 million are injured, making road safety a major global issue. Per 100,000 inhabitants, 18 lose their lives in traffic accidents. The US has one of the highest rates in the developed world with 11.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.
