The police of the municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia believe that personal shame is preventing them from getting to the bottom of the region’s cybercrime incidents.
According to Staff Sgt. Kevin Smith of the Halifax Regional Police, people are usually so ashamed of getting duped online that they refuse to come forward and report the crime to the authorities. This also means cybercrime is under-reported, and that the police have difficulty understanding what is happening online and identifying possible culprits.
“The prevalence of it is hard to nail down because it … has to be so much more than what’s reported to the police,” he told CBC News in an interview.
“We’d all like to think that we wouldn’t fall for this or that,” added Smith, who manages the law enforcement agency’s investigative support office and cyber operations unit. “In reality, all it takes is a little lapse in concentration and, really, an opportunity that we see that’s too good to pass up. And the next thing you know we’ve gone down the rabbit hole.”
It is not just individuals, but also businesses that are ashamed about admitting being a cyber-victim.
“Industry is trying to stay as quiet as they can about it,” said Ron McLeod, an instructor for Nova Scotia Community College’s cybersecurity program. “You know, they’re worried about reputational damage, and market damage, all that sort of stuff.”
CBC News reported that there were 304 cyber-related crimes reported to Halifax police in 2017. By comparison, 2016 saw 349 reports.
