Paedophiles could exploit the increased online activity of children during the coronavirus lockdown to target them in forums, a National Crime Agency (NCA) chief has warned.
Parents should be aware of the risks to children from online predators as they spend more time on their computing devices during the coronavirus lockdown.
Stephen Rodhouse, the NCA’s director general of operations, accepted parents would be stressed by the pressures of dealing with the pandemic but said they needed to be aware to the increased risk from sexual predators seeking to exploit the increase in online activity of children.
Mr Rodhouse said: “We are mindful that with different circumstances young people will be spending more time online potentially in chat forums – an areas we know paedophiles operate in,
“We are asking both parents and carers to be alert on behalf of their children.”
The explosion in paedophiles operating online has seen the number of referrals of child abuse images to the NCA from the open web increase by 1000 per cent since 2013, from 11,477 to 113,948 in 2018,
Mr Roadhouse’s comments come following the NCA issuing a national warning that it expected organised crime groups to exploit the coronavirus pandemic to target the UK.
The NCA has already seen instances of coronavirus-themed malicious apps and websites, as well as email phishing attacks aimed at stealing personal and financial information.
Seizures have also occurred, at the US border, officials in Los Angeles confiscated a consignment of suspected fake Covid-19 test kits sent from the United Kingdom.
A man has been arrested in Sussex by City of London Police attempting to send 60 more fake treatment kits to France, the US, and other parts of the UK, and has since been charged.
According to police, frauds exploiting people’s fears over coronavirus have quadrupled in just a month with at least £1m stolen from victims.
Action Fraud, which collates national data, said it had received 105 reports of frauds involving coronavirus since February 1, they have also received over 200 reports of coronavirus-themed phishing emails.
These attempt to trick people into opening harmful attachments sent in emails could lead to fraudsters stealing people’s personal information, email logins and passwords, and banking details.
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