Special team to tackle Internet fraud

NEWS An international team of crime busters has been set up to combat Internet fraud. The International Chamber of Commerce's Commercial Crime Bureau is responsible for forming the Cybercrime Unit. Eric Ellen, executive director at the Commercial Crime Bureau, said: "The unit will primarily investigate allegations of fraud. We'll try and establish if there is a pattern in the crimes, as most of the evidence we have at the moment is anecdotal." Ellen's unit, due to start investigations next February, will try and uncover the size of the problem and its impact on businesses. However, the unit will not investigate pornography or terrorism. Once evidence of criminal activities has been uncovered it would be passed onto other crime busting organisations such as Interpol. "We'll act as a base of information for people, so they know where the problem is and can share this with other banks and businesses. Once we have a focal point, it is easy to combat other types of crime such as piracy and counterfeiting," said Ellen. He claimed the police would find the unit invaluable. "They don't have the facts and figures to deal with this sort of thing," he said.