Cybercrime

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The advances in information and communication technologies are fully integrated into our daily lives and have transformed how we do business, how we manage our finances, shop, communicate with each other and live our daily lives. As technology advances, so do the methods adopted by criminals who seek to exploit gaps in technology security for their own gain.

Cybercrime is on the increase and as a consequence, cybercrime and cybersecurity receive increasing attention by businesses and individuals and are allocated higher importance and investment by government and businesses, including the creation of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) as the UK’s authority on the cybersecurity environment, sharing knowledge, addressing systemic vulnerabilities and providing leadership on key national cyber security issues.

But what is meant by ‘cybercime’?

Cybercrime is crime that has some kind of computer or cyber aspect to it and it takes shape in a variety of different forms. According to the government’s National Cyber Security Strategy, cybercrime comprises two interrelated categories of crime—cyber-dependent crime and cyber-enabled crime.

Cyber-dependent crime are crimes that can be committed only through the use of information and communications technology (ICT) devices,

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Latest Corporate Crime News

COPFS reports sentencing of charity worker for £29,900 embezzlement

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has reported that Margaret Burnett, a charity worker at a Leonard Cheshire supported accommodation facility in Edinburgh, has been sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for embezzling £29,900 from five vulnerable and disabled residents between January 2014 and August 2016. Burnett illegally used residents’ bank cards to make unlogged withdrawals totalling £29,900. The court imposed a 12-month supervision order, a restriction of liberty order, and mandated compensation payments of £3,000 to each surviving victim within 28 days.

FCA closes investigation into Wellesley & Co Limited with no further action

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has decided to take no further action against Wellesley & Co Limited (WCL) following an investigation that found no evidence of serious misconduct. The investigation, announced in 2022, focused on whether investors had been misled or defrauded by WCL in relation to high-risk property development investments promoted and arranged by the firm. These products were not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FCA reviewed marketing materials, risk warnings, banking transactions and investor evidence, and found that the risks were fairly described and there were no signs of fraud or misuse of funds. WCL was the only authorised entity in the Wellesley Group and entered administration on 30 April 2025. The investigation followed Wellesley Finance Ltd’s (WFL) Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in October 2020, under which around £80m of the £134.7m owed to 12,000 investors was returned. The CVA was completed in 2022 and the FCA confirmed that all obligations under the arrangement were met.

Trading standards prosecutions round-up—17 September 2025

A round-up of the latest trading standards prosecutions, including directors of a boiler repair company prosecuted for misleading vulnerable consumers.

Law Society calls for urgent investment to support Sentencing Bill reforms

The Law Society has issued a statement ahead of the Sentencing Bill’s second reading in the House of Commons, calling for urgent and sustained investment across the criminal justice system to support the success of the Bill’s proposed sentencing reforms. While the President of the Law Society, Richard Atkinson, welcomed the focus on preventing reoffending, he emphasised that access to education courses in custody is crucial for preparing prisoners for release and reducing reoffending rates. The Law Society supports the Bill’s emphasis on maximising suspended and deferred sentences—but highlights that successful implementation requires sustained investment across all parts of the system. It also urged an urgent review of the children’s custody release scheme to prevent young offenders from serving disproportionately longer sentences compared to adults with similar sentences.

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