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By Peter Warren, 18 April 2001 16:40

NEWS Detective Superintendent Len Hynds revealed plans to create a national reporting structure for computer crime of the future. The new cybercrime squad will start with an initial team of 40, comprising investigative officers, forensic experts, computer consultants and support staff. Responding to criticism that the new cyber cops will have little contact with the man on the street and that the police are uncomfortable dealing with computer crime at a local level, Hynds admitted that there had been problems in the past that the unit hoped to resolve. "We will be setting up a secure intranet between all local computer crime units to enable people to report computer crime at a local level," said Hynds. He said the system will enable the unit "to gather intelligence" in order to "provide a standardised response". Hynds' commitment to dealing with the concerns of the public has not washed with one silicon.com reader, who this morning sought to interest the police in a fraud attempt on him. The con-trick in question is known as the 419 advance fee fraud - practised by Nigerian organised criminals- that has now made its way onto the web. "I have just received a 419 fraud from Nigeria and I am still in contact with the perpetrators. This morning I contacted New Scotland Yard offering my email address and name or whatever help they needed to set up their sting on these people on the day the police launched their new cyber crime party. Their response astounded me. They were not interested at all saying basically it's not worth their while." Hynds also announced the launch of a new confidential service for industry to help in the reporting of computer crime. Until now an industry fear of publicity leading to a collapse in confidence in sectors like the banking industry has resulted in a woeful lack of computer crime reporting to the police. The true test of the success of Hynds' cybercrime unit, according to many observers, will be whether he can boost the figures for cybercrime reporting from both industry and the public to allow the units efforts to be effectively targeted. silicon.com is currently conducting a campaign to fight fraud on the net by calling for the creation of an independent body that cybercrime victims can report to in confidence. If you want to support this campaign, send a mail to editorial@silicon.com