Will SOCA kick online fraud into touch?

Tony Blair has launched the UK's very own FBI to fight back against organised crime.

The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) is to bring 4,000 specialist agents together and the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) - the UK's computer police - has become part of the new body.

One of the objectives of SOCA is to launch a crackdown on financial crime, such as money laundering and online fraud. But it also has a greater focus on drug trafficking and organised immigration crime.

And as a result critics are already warning that as a result the focus on e-crime could get lost in the mix.

Not so, insists a spokeswoman for SOCA, who told silicon.com that the NHTCU won't be changing other than in its name.

"It could look that way as the NHTCU had its own branding," she said. "But it doesn't mean that we are putting less emphasis on e-crime. The work there will continue but the name will disappear.

"Much of the work that the four agencies did before will continue unchanged. The main difference is that they have been brought together so that work is not overlapped."

But not all those in the policing community agree that SOCA will bring benefits for everyone. Former Scotland Yard computer crime unit officer Simon Janes fears many people will have to turn to their local police station if they encounter online crime.

"It appears now that without the NHTCU, high-tech crimes will have to be dealt with by local forces unless it meets SOCA criteria which will probably be multimillion pound," he told silicon.com.

"It will be like stepping back 10 years," he added. "Victims of computer crime will attempt to report crimes to their local force and be told that the suspects and investigation are in some other force area or country and be told to report it to another police force. The belief the public has in the police, developed by the hard work and insight of the NHTCU, will be lost."

According to SOCA's literature, around 40 per cent of its resources will be focussed on stopping drug trafficking; 25 per cent on organised immigration crime; and 10 per cent on individual and private sector fraud (including identity fraud and "forms of e-fraud exploiting the use of the internet by banks and commerce").

This is not high enough a focus on online crime for some. Simon Heron, technical director of Network Box Defence Systems, said: "It is worrying that it has not been given a higher priority - the online world is a major way of communicating for crime and for generating income. Just look at the extortion rackets and the spamming that goes on.

"However, it has to be a good thing that there is more co-ordination fighting organised crime. I am not sure that this will greatly affect online financial crime - this would require an international force as most of these scams are organised outside of the UK."

If nothing else, he predicts, the formation of the new agency may persuade criminals that there are easier pickings to be found elsewhere: "The SOCA will keep pressure on these fraudulent activities, making it more likely that they will stay outside of the UK," he said.